With Darkness There'll Be Light
by GNess
Summary: COMPLETE!!!!! A fellowship of friends and old enemies must come together to save Hermione and Ginny. Darkness, betrayal, romance, angst and evil threaten to break their fellowship; as death splits them apart.
1. More Sightings

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With Darkness There'll Be Light

One - More Sightings

Draco Malfoy left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at age seventeen the same person he was when he went in, except with a miniscule difference that couldn't be detected by the normal, human eye. Draco had slowly, and not deliberately, fallen in love. Problematically, with one of those Gryffindors that had always driven him mad. He wanted nothing more than to get away from the whole lot of them…but found it impossible as they were always around; and as fait would have it, later on down the road, he'd need them so he could survive.

Nineteen year old Draco Malfoy laced up his boots and grabbed his cloak. He straightened out his black turtleneck sweater and smoothed out his black pants and robe. As his silver-blonde hair fell into his eyes, he glanced outside. The rain was getting heavier by the minute. Pitter-pattering on the windows and then turning to a light slashing noise as the rain increased. He was glad he could Apparate to work instead of walking like those poor, suffering Muggles.

"Poor and suffering, right." Draco scoffed. He shook his head, grabbed his wand and Apparated to work.

Draco landed with a small 'pop' in his office at the Ministry of Magic in London.

"Morning," said Draco, walking out to greet his secretary. She sat at a large tarnished cherry colored mahogany desk. Directly beside her was a good sized brick fireplace built into the wall, on the mantle stood a very corpulent, silver vase-like bowl. On the wall above that was a large, wooden sign that read: Ministry of Magic -London: Department of Aurors. Under that, was a smaller sign stating: Draco Malfoy, Senior Auror. The door to Draco's office was see-through and could be found about a yard away from his secretary's desk, on the opposite side of the fireplace.

The tall blonde behind the desk smiled at him, "Good morning, Mr. Malfoy."

"Draco," replied Draco automatically. "No Malfoy."

"Sorry," she muttered, setting her quill down next to a sizable jug of glistening green ink.

"Any calls, Melody?" Draco asked, thumbing through some pieces of parchment that were his messages.

Melody sighed dramatically, "Yes, about a million. Which first?"

Draco grinned and leaned a hip against her desk, "Most important first, naturally."

"Mr. Weasley called in and said he'd be late for work. His basement is flooding and he needs to research a charm to dry it up." She shuffled through a few parchments of notes on her polished desk.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Unsurprising. Next."

Melody looked down at a large square contraption beneath her left elbow. There were five little bulbs above five little names. Only one bulb was red, indicating that Ron Weasley was not at work yet. "Mr. Potter is in already. He says to go see him as soon as you get here. He wouldn't tell me why, but my guess is there's been another sighting."

Draco visibly paled under his flushed cheeks and ran a hand through his relatively long hair. "All right. What else?"

"A woman called, she wouldn't give her name. But I think she may have had the wrong number. She sounded quite hysterical. I don't recall what she looked like, however, the flames were quite jumpy. Shall I go through the rest of your calls?"

"No, just block the fire for the time being. I've got to go see Potter."

Melody put a blocking charm on the floo fire place and watched as Draco walked down the cramped hallway. He was wearing tight fitting trousers under his black robes, she could tell. The only reason she'd even taken this job was so she could glimpse Draco everyday. He was quite the lady killer and pretty well known in the wizarding world. Especially since he joined forces with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, two thirds of the Hogwarts Dream Team.

She sighed to herself and went back to work. He was simply unattainable…even for her.

Nineteen year old Harry Potter was sitting at his desk, feet propped up, chewing on the end of his quill. He was looking out the window at Muggle London. The rain was still pouring heavily down.

"Weasel's late again," muttered Draco entering the room and closing the door behind him to a red head who was Harry's secretary (and who also had a large crush on Draco, as most of the girls who worked in that office did.)

Harry let his feet drop to the floor, "Yeah, I know. Where've you been?"

Draco shrugged, "Getting my messages. I'm apparently very popular today. There were about 200."

Harry grinned, "Sure."

"Well?" Draco asked, sitting opposite Harry and glancing causally around the immaculate office. The gold-plated name plate said: Harry Potter, Senior Aruror on it and was gleaming, as if it had just been polished.

"There's been another sighting," said Harry, looking very pale and tired all of a sudden. "Near Hermione's."

"Granger's?" Draco asked, his voice choked.

"Yes," replied Harry. "We need to get over there right away. As soon as Ron gets in. We need to go and collect all the Aurors in this department. We can't go alone. The Muggle police were called I guess. 

Hermione is quite shaken up I imagine."

"Is she all right?" Draco wondered nervously.

Harry looked at him quizzically, "Do you care?"

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, "Haven't you put the school day rivalry behind us? I have. Get over it, Potter. I'm trying to do my job. Just like you. She's my colleague, just like she is yours."

Harry ran a hand through his jet black hair, trying to push it out of his eyes. "I don't know if she's all right. I haven't heard from her. She didn't owl me or call on the floo network."

Draco nodded so slightly that Harry wasn't sure if it even was a nod. Draco suddenly looked very green. 

"You've got to trust me if we're going to work together. We've been through this." Draco leaned closer to Harry. "I am not and will never be a Death Eater. I have no contact with my father, my mother is in St. Mungo's. I do not hate Mudbloods, although old habits die hard. I do not hate you. I do not hate Weasel. But that doesn't mean I like either of you, either."

Harry nodded, "Okay." There was an awkward silence following this pronouncement.

"Hear from Sirius?" Asked Draco, trying to be friendly and also trying to pass time.

"Yeah," replied Harry, looking warn and battered. "He's in Romania. Just visited Ron's brother, Charlie. Dumbledore reckons he can come back to Britain soon. Especially if the sightings keep up." Harry sighed. "Let's hope they don't, even though I would like to see him."

Draco nodded, but didn't say anything. He really wasn't sure what to say. Sirius Black, escaped convict from Azkaban, was now working for Dumbledore on a special mission concerning the whereabouts of Voldemort. Even though Sirius' name had been cleared a few years ago, he still had to be careful. Not everyone trusted him. Sort of like people not trusting Draco just because of who his father is…or was.

6 feet, 2 inches tall, Ron Weasley (also nineteen) entered the office as if he'd directly Apparated there, ducking a bit so he wouldn't hit his head.

"Hullo Harry," greeted Ron. He looked quite flushed and a little on the wet side. Well, wet up to his knees anyway.

"Hey Ron," replied Harry, standing up.

Draco stood as well, "Morning Weasley."

"Malfoy," nodded Ron.

"Draco," corrected Draco. "Just Draco. Trying to leave the Malfoy behind, if you'll remember."

"Old habits die hard," said Harry, winking. Draco rolled his eyes. Harry always had a way of throwing anyone's words back at them.

"Let's go get Seamus and Justin. Then we can Apparate to Hermione's."

"What?" Ron asked, looking very shaken suddenly. "Hermione's?"

"There was a sighting there," explained Draco, "Come on, I'll explain on the way."

So the three very tall boys walked down the hallway to an office which held a boy with sandy colored hair and a boy who had brown hair, but stood a foot taller than all the others. They were Junior Aurors, having not had enough field experience to be Senior Aurors like Draco, Harry and Ron. 

"Ready?" Seamus Finnigan asked them, picking up his wand. He walked over to the others, looking like a child next to some giants.

Justin Finch-Fletchely smiled glumly at them as he too picked up his wand. Then the five ex-Hogwarts students Apparated to Hermione's.


	2. And He Cried

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With Darkness There'll Be Light

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Two - And He Cried

The sight that greeted the five young Aurors when they arrived in the outskirts of Surrey was frightening; bone chillingly scary, even. 

Draco Malfoy, normally strong and tough, bent down with his slender hand over his mouth. He did his best to avert his eyes. And he tried not to let his breakfast make a second appearance.

Harry Potter, the boy who could face Voldemort single-handedly, wrenched his eyes from the sight and looked at the wall, willing himself not to cry. The pinpricks at the corners of his eyes told him he wouldn't be successful.

Ron Weasley, always brave and loyal, couldn't move his legs although his mind willed him and tried to push him out the door. He stood his ground, rooted to the spot because of the shock.

Seamus Finnigan, the clown, could not find one single thing funny about the scene that lay before his eyes.

Justin Finch-Fletchley, always quiet and shy, wanted nothing more than to crawl up in a corner, shut his eyes and forget any of this ever happened.

The five strongest Aurors in the country could not move. They were frozen; with fear.

Harry closed his eyes, opened them and then closed them again, taking deep breaths. Finally, he opened his eyes and made himself survey the surroundings; he had to do his job.

It may have been dark in the room they were in, but the raging fire shed enough light so that he could plainly see the two bodies hanging from the ceiling; they were rocking back and forth slightly from the force of the fire. He identified them as two people he didn't really know, but whom he would surely miss.

Harry grabbed his wand, clutching it so hard in his fist that he thought he might break it.

"Get your wands," he growled at his counterparts. Draco, Ron, Justin and Seamus took out their wands one by one.

"Granger's parents," stated Draco when Harry looked at him.

  
"Yes," replied Ron shakily. "Oh my God." He put a freckled hand to his mouth. 

He and Harry said the next thing simultaneously, with voices that held panic and horror, "HERMIONE!"

In the next second, all five of them had torn through the house but were met with nothing but destruction. Charred walls, overturned furniture, smashed dishes, frayed books, and not a living thing.

"She has to be alive," Ron choked out, looking around as the fire continued to burn the house. He started to cough, the smoke finally getting to him.

Seamus put a hand on his back, "There's no way anyone could survive this much fire, Ron."

"Why did they hang themselves!?" He demanded shrilly, his eyes locked on Harry's.

"They didn't hang themselves," Harry answered sternly. "They were murdered."

Draco swallowed, feeling like he'd never have enough oxygen in his life. "We have to get out of here."

Harry nodded, "Come on." He lead the other four out of the house and onto the Muggle street. They were met with another unfamiliar sight. 

Absolutely nothing.

Draco breathed in the air thankfully, but pushed down the celebration when he realized what was going on. The Muggle street that the Grangers lived on was completely burned to the ground. Small fires here and there were smoldering and Harry could hear a fire engine in the distance. But everything was gone; it was too late.

Muggles were running all around. Some little kids were screaming and coughing. Mothers in house coats and shower caps tried to corral their children. Fathers tried to sooth the crying mothers. Some older woman in a wheel chair was staring at a pile of ruble with too much sorrow on her face. It was almost more than the five men could handle. Almost.

Harry kicked some dirt on a small grass fire near where he stood. It had been slowly creeping towards the Granger's house to join its fellows. Harry felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes once more. He looked and saw that Seamus was charred a little and had wet cheeks. Ron looked beside himself with grief. Even Draco looked upset. Draco looked all around, his lips turned into a frown. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do.

Draco could hear more and more sirens sounding, coming closer.

"We should go," said Ron quietly. "We don't want to be here when the please men get here."

"Police," corrected Harry, "but you're right. Come on." Harry led the others behind what was left of the Grangers house and they Disapparted to see the Minister of Magic.

Percy Weasley was the first person they saw when they popped back to the Ministry.

  
"PERCY!" Ron hollered. "There's been an attack!"

Percy looked more solemn than anyone else in their group. He held up a piece of parchment. On it were a few well chosen words in his hand writing.

__

Voldemort has been sighted in Great Britain with thousands of Death Eaters. Muggle streets burned to the ground. Many missing witches and wizards.

Percy looked very close to tears. Ron stepped up to him in a brotherly fashion, but Percy shooed him back.

"Here," Percy said, shoving a piece of parchment at Harry, "a list of the missing."

Harry took it and paled instantly. He read it aloud, "Missing: Hermione E. Granger, 19 and Ginny H. Weasley, 18. Last seen----" Harry stopped reading as the tears finally fell from his eyes. He made no move to hide in shame; he made no move to stop the flow. He just stared. And he cried.

Ron's lip was trembling as he held Percy in a strong hug. Draco, Seamus and Justin looked on with saddened expressions on their faces.

Percy pulled away from his brother, taking the list from Harry and handing it to Justin. He didn't say anything, but strolled from the office ready to be the best Minister of Magic he could be. Even though the empending grief was threatening to eat him up inside.

Justin's eyes wandered down the list. He muttered the names, "Last seen at the Granger home in Muggle London. No bodies. Escape possible. Kidnapping also possible." Justin looked up and was greeted with very solemn faces but faces that urged him to continue. "Parvati Q. Patil, 19. Padma G. Patil, 19. Paul P. Patil, 45. Patsy P. Patil, 44. Presumed dead. No bodies. House burned to the ground." Justin choked back a sob and looked to his friends who were watching him in expectation. "You want me to finish?"

Ron, Harry, Draco and Seamus all nodded. They needed to know. They couldn't hide from it.

"Bodies Found: Roberta and Roberto Robertson, both 33. Griswald Grister, 39. Eartha Moon, 12; Star Moon, 15; Trip Moon, 41; Mercury Moon, 43." He scanned the rest of the bodies found list and came upon the unknown list. He paled instantly.

"Joshua Finch-Fletchley, 12...Oh my God." Justin put a hand to his mouth. "My brother." Justin continued to read, unable to stop. "Jenisa Finch-Fletchley, 9...that's my sister." Justin put a hand to his mouth and shoved the parchment at Draco.

Draco swallowed and resumed the list, "Janica and Joseph Finch-Fletchley, both 6. James Finch-Fletchley, 44 and Jillian Finch-Fletchley, 43." Draco shook his head and uttered words no one standing there ever thought he could say, "I'm so sorry, Justin."

Justin looked up, tears falling down his cheeks. "Thanks."

"You should finish," said Ron, choking back tears. "It might have more information on the unknowns."

Draco looked back at the list, "Unknowns include 10 more people, including 3 separate families. It says under the unknowns that there could be possible recovery, but unlikely." He looked up from the parchment. "It says it's unknown because the Ministry tried to track them and didn't get a response."

Ron and Seamus both put hands on Justin's shoulders. "It'll be all right. Maybe everything's fine," whispered Ron, barely believing the words himself.

Draco turned to Harry, "Well, what's the call?"

Harry pondered his answer very carefully. "We need to find Hermione. First and foremost. Seamus, Justin, you two can go see Percy about tracking down the attackers. Mal---Draco, you----"  
  
"Will go with you and Weasley to look for Granger," supplied Draco. "I'm not letting you go alone."  
  
"We'll be fine," insisted Ron, rolling his eyes.

"I want to go," said Draco, staring intently at Harry.

Harry surveyed him for a moment, wondering why he even cared. Why he even bothered. Then it dawned on him suddenly. A light bulb went on above his head and he knew.

"Okay," conceded Harry, "Draco, you'll come with us. Seamus, report to me on the Wizard Wireless. Okay?"   
  
Seamus held up a small purple object that resembled a Muggle walkie-talkie. It fit very well in his hand, only twice the size of a quarter. It had two buttons on it, only. "Check."

"Justin," said Harry, turning to the brown haired boy, "I know it's hard, but please try and do your job."  
  
"I won't let you down, Harry," promised Justin, his voice strong and his body rigid.

Harry checked his robe pockets for all the gadgets he'd need and then motioned for Draco and Ron to follow him from the office.


	3. Wizards In Black

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With Darkness There'll Be Light

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Three - Wizards In Black

When Harry, Ron and Draco departed the Ministry of Magic they looked like Muggle movie stars going to save the world. Walking side by side, each of them wore long, black leather trench coats over gray turtlenecks with black leather trousers. They each, also, wore black belts which held a Wizard Wireless each (Harry's green, Ron's red and Draco's gray), a small notepad parchment and quills. Their wands were tucked safely in their trench coat pockets.

To the Muggle eye, the three looked much like three men with a mission. Which is exactly what they were. Except for the man part. The three wizards all held pained expressions and not even Ron and Draco spoke one ill word to the other. Normally, Draco and Ron were always exchanging snippy comments, but not today. They were all too caught up in their own thoughts; in their own grief for those who had been lost.

  
Draco's thoughts consisted of one thing and one thing only: Hermione. Why, he wasn't entirely sure. When he left Hogwarts those mere two years prior, he thought he'd never see her (or any Gryffindors) ever again. How ironic that he be working with three Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff. In actuality, Draco Malfoy hadn't seen a Slytherin for two years. So his wish backfired.

Not that he cared, because he really didn't. All he cared about at that moment was saving a girl he barely knew. A girl whom he'd partially hated during school. A girl he'd competed with but never competed for. Although, at this very moment he wondered why he'd never tried to woo her like so many other of his male classmates.

Hermione Granger, in her seventh year, had blossomed into what you might call a beautiful young woman. It wasn't even her looks that did it, though. It was her attitude. She'd always been beautiful in the minds of Harry, Ron and her parents, but not to herself. The beginning of her seventh year was the most special to her because she was finally happy with herself. 

Boys came and went for her, but nothing life-altering and definitely no love. Hermione Granger had never been in love.

That, at least, Draco had in common with her. Because he'd never been in love either. He was never satisfied with casual encounters. Although, he had many of them. None he'd care to recount, however. They were all meaningless to him and he'd stopped now. He hadn't had a girlfriend (nor a casual encounter) for at least a year. 

What he wanted more than anything in the world was just one person. A soul mate. Someone to love, someone to trust and someone to be loved by. Someone to say goodnight to. And for some odd reason, he wanted that person to be Hermione Granger. But why, he wasn't sure. And how, he was even less sure of. She would never go for it. She still hated him.

"I need an SLS on Hermione Granger, Seamus." Harry's voice interrupted Draco's thoughts. Draco looked to his left and saw that Harry was talking into his WW. Muggles would probably have thought Harry was simply on a mobile phone. Which is what they wanted. The three wizards just wanted to blend in and look like normal Muggles. Not wizards on a mission.

"SLS on Hermione Granger," came Seamus crackled voice, "Granger home in Muggle London, 9am. There have been no reports of a sighting of her since this morning when she called into work sick. Apparently, she was taking a 'mental health' day to spend with Ginny Weasley. Because Ginny had just graduated from a one year University stint…"  
  
"Okay, what about an SLS on Ginny?" Harry asked.

"SLS is Subject Last Seen," said Draco to Ron.

"I know THAT!" Ron hissed at him. "I'm an Auror too! AND I was in the same class as you, might I add."  
  
"Sure, you can add all you want," shrugged Draco.

"SSSHHHHHH," shushed Harry. The three stopped walking, Harry ducking into an alley so he could speak with Seamus privately.

"SLS on Ginny Weasley…leaving her house this morning around 10am."

"What are you and Justin doing?"

"Researching Death Eater SLS's," replied Seamus. "Already discounted four because they are out of the country. Apparently," he added as an afterthought. "although it might be false information."  
  
"Who's the source?" Harry asked.

"Snape," responded Seamus, his voice sounder further away now. "Death Eater meeting was held last night."  
  
"Okay, thanks, Seamus. Call with any updates."  
  
"Check, mate."

"Chess," reminisced Ron with misty eyes. "how I miss it." Ron hadn't had time for chess for the last year or so. He'd been too busy dating (Ron enjoyed casual encounters) and working.  
  
"He meant 'check' and then called Harry, 'mate'." Draco said.

"I know, Malfoy!" Ron yelled.

"It's Draco!" retorted Draco angrily, grinding his teeth menacingly.

"Shut up, you two! We have to concentrate. Oh I just had a thought. Ron, call Percy."

Ron took out his red WW and said, loudly and clearly, Percy's call number which was 000.

"Mister Weasley, Minister of Magic."  
  
"It's me Ron…What did you want, Harry?"

"Ask him what Death Eaters are out of the country."  
  
"Nott, Bulstrode, Feir and DeVil," replied Percy, sounding very tired. "Why?"  
  
"Just making sure we don't check their underground lairs," said Harry, beginning to walk again. Draco and Ron followed. They were now deep into Muggle London, heading to the underground. "We're going to stop by the Weasleys to make sure they haven't heard from Ginny."  
  
"Okay," said Percy, "Update from Finnigan in 20, he says."  
  
"Check," replied Harry, "Thanks."

"Hey Captain?" Draco asked, running to catch up with Harry. 

"You don't have to call me that, Draco," replied Harry, grinning slightly.

"Yes, well you ARE our Captain and superior."  
  
"Jealousy doesn't suit you," interjected Ron helpfully. Draco scowled at him but didn't respond.

"And in any case, I'm not YOUR superior, I'm Seamus and Justin's and I am only the leader of this small group of Executive Aurors, not your master." Harry started down the steps to the underground, taking them two at a time, "I really wish we could Apparate."  
  
"It's traceable," offered Ron, "We can't."  
  
"I know," sighed Harry, "it's just easier. Anyway, what did you want Draco?"  
  
"What's Plan B? If the Weasleys don't have any information."

"I don't know. WE go to all Death Eaters houses and torture Hermione information out of them."  
  
Draco grinned evilly, "Sounds fun." Harry paid for them and they all boarded the train that headed to Ottery St. Catchpole.

"It's not really," said Ron, sighing. "We could get killed."  
  
"Well, I'm willing to get killed if that means we can find her," said Draco, staring out the window.

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Harry wondered, bending closer to Draco so he could hear him.

"No, I just haven't seen her in a while and I would like to…preferably alive because she is the only person in this world who can trade insults with me better than Weasley. And she's also a lot better looking than Weasley which means the insult trading is more fun. You both are very fun when you're angry." Draco answered this very matter-of-factly, and Ron and Harry exchanged glances.

What Harry and Ron didn't know was that all that Draco said was actually the truth. He DID want to see Hermione again alive. He didn't know what it was, but he just REALLY needed to see her. It was as if his life depended on it.


	4. Sneer Included

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With Darkness There'll Be Light

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Four - Sneer Included 

Ron was scared, yes, but he also had something Harry and Draco did not. Optimism. He knew that Hermione and Ginny were not dead. In trouble, he figured, but not dead. There was no way they were dead. Which is why he wasn't as green as Draco and Harry when they entered his childhood home.

"Mum?" He called, entering the kitchen.  
  
"RON!" Mrs. Weasley ran into the kitchen, her face flushed and also blotchy from crying. She flung her arms around Ron, then Harry, and finally Draco. 

Draco had been at the Weasley home once before and Mrs. Weasley extended every courtesy to him as she did to Harry. She, too, had put the school rivalry behind her. Even though Draco was not a son to her like Harry was, she still treated him in a motherly fashion. 

She sat the three young wizards at the table and hollered for her husband. Arthur Weasley entered the kitchen wearing a wane smile and tattered robes. He hugged his son and Harry and shook Draco's hand. He, also, looked like he'd been crying.

  
"Have you heard from Ginny, Mum?" Ron asked his mother, cutting right to the chase. They couldn't afford to waste time.

Mrs. Weasley paled and swallowed, "No, she left here this morning around 9. I never heard from her after that."  
  
"Draco, is there any reason why Voldemort would want Hermione or Ginny?" Harry asked, voicing the question that was in all of their minds.

Draco started and stared at Harry in horror, "I don't speak to him, Potter!"

Mrs. Weasley reached over and took Draco's hand. He stiffened. "He doesn't mean that, dear. He just thought you probably might have a clue…seeing as how your father…well, that's what makes you such a good Auror because you have the ability to think like them."

A light blush crept upon Draco's ghost colored features, "Oh, sorry. Er…reason…I don't know. He doesn't really follow reason, does he."

Arthur cleared his throat, "Molly, would you make some tea?"

  
Mrs. Weasley smiled, "Yes, of course," and stood up from the table, giving Draco's hand a slight pat.

"Hermione is a Muggleborn and she's the most powerful witch Hogwarts had seen in years. That should be enough reason," stated Draco, his voice low. "But I don't know about Ginny."  
  
"She was just there," said Ron. "In the wrong place at the wrong time, probably."

"Do you have any idea where they'd have taken them?" Harry asked Draco.

Draco shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. I never went to any of their 'hideouts' or anything." Draco sat up suddenly, "Although..Fath---Lucius mentioned a lair of Voldemort's once, a cave thing." He sighed, "But that was years ago."

Harry sighed heavily, all the years of being an Auror had never been this hard. One of his best friends was in trouble and he had no idea how to help. He was great helping people he didn't know and tracking down and killing Death Eaters, but if he moved too fast they might kill her (if they even had her). And if he moved too slow, he might be too late.

"Where was this lair?" Ron asked, then thanked his mother when she set tea in front of him.

Draco leaned forward slightly, "You're not going to like this…Romania."

"Charlie," said Mr. Weasley.

"Sirius," said Harry in unison.

"Where abouts?" Ron asked him, pulling his parchment notebook from his belt.

Draco shrugged, "I dunno."  
  
"Well, we can't just go there and look around!" Ron threw his quill down. It bounced off his notebook and then into Harry's tea.

Harry pulled it out with a disgusted look on his face, "Er…thanks Ron? I've always wanted inked tea?"

Draco grinned which was something that still wasn't normal behavior for him, but something that he did once in a blue moon. He was on the good side, but he still held some of his old mannerisms. Sneer included. 

Arthur and Molly Weasley took each other's hands and smiled at their son. Harry began to laugh and as you know: laughing is infectious…much like yawns.

Soon the whole table erupted in noisy laughter. A sweet release from all the stress they were under.

"Why Draco," said Harry jollily when the laughter died down, "I didn't know you could laugh."

Draco sneered, "Yes, I can laugh at you."

"It's actually nice to know that your sneer still exists," said Ron, wiping his tea-drenched quill on a napkin.

"Oh it does. And it's reserved just for you," replied Draco sneeringly.

"Can't get Draco without the sneer. Snide remarks and sneers included with purchase," said Harry, laughing at his own joke. He suddenly sobered, "We really need to get cracking on this whole thing, though."  
  
"Okay," replied Draco, sitting forward, an intense look in his eyes. "Let's get Finnigan and Finch-Fletchley and we'll go looking for Hermione and Ginny together. The five us would be better than just three if we're to traipse around Romania. Plus a few more fellows couldn't hurt. There's no telling how many Death Eaters there are now. Hundreds, I'd imagine. Maybe more."  
  
Ron noted all of those things in his notebook for further consultation. "What're Neville and Dean doing right now?" He directed this question at Harry, the human dictionary on people's locations.

Harry's brown furrowed, "Dean is playing professional Quidditch. Neville's…I think he's in some foreign country researching things for his new book."

"What about those Hufflepuffs that hung around Finch-Fletchley?" Draco asked, watching as Ron scribbled out Neville and Dean's names on a list of possible helpers.

"Ernie MacMillan or Hannah Abbott?" Harry asked. "Ernie is off doing God knows what and I have no idea what Hannah is doing. I haven't seen her since our last day of school."

Ron nodded, crossing out those two names. He scratched his chin with the end of his quill. "I got it!"

All four other people at the table jumped in surprise.

  
"Fred and George! They'll help!"

  
Harry and Draco both glanced at Arthur and Molly who had become quite silent.

"If it's important for you have more team members, I'm sure they would," stated Arthur serenely. Molly nodded.

"Anybody else?" Draco asked the entire table.

"I'm guessing your old Slytherin mates wouldn't want to join?" Ron said, half jokingly.

Draco shrugged, "Doubt it as most of them are Death Eaters."

  
Harry sighed, "What about Lavender or Parvati? Last I knew, they didn't have any previous engagements. Wizardly or otherwise."

"They're girls," Draco pointed out unnecessarily.

"Right, but they were our friends," retorted Ron, jotting down their names. "I'm putting Padma down too…wait, no. She's among the missing." He swallowed, hard. "I can't think of anyone else."

"Aren't there any more Aurors that could help you?" Molly asked them, looking fretful as she wrung her hands together.

"No, the five of us are it basically. Plus Hermione, but she's obviously not able to help." Harry put his head in his hands. Then he looked up quickly, "Wait. Her partner at the Ministry was…is Gemma Moon. I haven't talked to her much, but she was at Auror school with us and in Ravenclaw. And she and Hermione are really close."  
  
"Well, what are you waiting for? Call her on WW." Draco suggested while Ron eagerly wrote down this new information.

Harry pulled his green WW out of his pocket and dialed Gemma's number.


	5. The Fellowship

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Five - The Fellowship

The following day, eight wizards and witches congregated at Harry's flat in London. They will now be refereed to as 'The Fellowship' when addressed as a group. The name of their group had come from Draco who read a Muggle book entitled _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring _and loved it. It was the only Muggle book he'd ever read and actually enjoyed. 

Draco placed a tattered copy of J.R.R Tolkein's classic in the middle of the table as he sat down. The book was very old and dog-eared…but cared for none the less. They would use it for guidance when they needed help on their quest.

"We need a plan," stated Harry, sitting at the head of his large dining room table.

Ron, Draco, George, Fred, Justin, Seamus and Gemma all exchanged glances. No one seemed to want to speak.

"We can't just go out there…we need to be prepared," continued Harry, looking at everyone sternly.

"If we waste too much time, it'll be too late," said Draco, his voice very serious. 

"We need time to train, though," argued Ron. "We're very rusty with normal magic."

"We don't have time to train," snapped Harry tiredly. "We should Apparate to Sirius' hideout by tomorrow afternoon. That only gives us enough time to discuss tactics and gather equipment."

"How much are we going to need?" Gemma Moon asked timidly. She threw her long golden hair into a ponytail as she talked. "Equipment, that is." She was easily one of the better looking girls at school, probably only second to Hermione, thought Draco. She had an innocence about her that was intriguing and also a bit daunting, because it made her seem much younger than she was. At nineteen, Gemma was, of course, fully grown; but when she smiled, a dimple appeared near her mouth that made her look like she was five.

"Just our wands, obviously. Knives would be helpful, though not imperative. I don't know what they use in combat besides wands…so…" Harry sighed. "…I'm afraid we don't have much knowledge. But we don't have time to research."

"Knives will be needed," chipped in Draco. "They'll resort to anything to kill you." He cast his eyes downward, feeling very tired and weary.

"What else?" Ron asked him.

Draco shrugged, "Anything, really. We'll need food, also, Harry."  
  
"Right," replied Harry, motioning for Ron to put that on their list. "One bag per person holding all that you can carry. Don't go overboard because we don't know what sort of terrain we'll be on."

Gemma looked very pale all of a sudden, seemingly doubting her role in this dangerous mission. She became an Auror because there was nothing else that seemed fitting to her, though she had no idea how dangerous the job would really be. All the boys knew, of course, except Fred and George who never wanted to work for the Ministry.

"Do we KNOW where we're going?" Fred asked.

Harry turned towards him. "Romania."

"More specifically, please," replied George.

"Siruis's hideout," laughed Ron. "That's as far as we've gotten. We have to play it by ear. Once we're there, we'll scout out some spots…you know, the regular. Ask locals, tracking devices placed on a Death Eater will be helpful."  
  
"We placed a tracking device?" George said, sounding impressed. "And ARE there locals in the middle of nowhere?"

"We haven't placed a tracking device yet," answered Seamus, "Soon, though."

Draco cleared his throat, "There are no locals…we have no one to ask but Sirius and he should be of some help."

"Anyone else joining us?" Gemma asked, almost hopefully.

Ron cleared his throat, "Parvati and Padma aren't…obviously. They were just finishing Auror classes when they--"

Draco looked at him, his eyes sorrowful. "When they were presumed dead?"  
  
Ron nodded, "I never heard back from Lavender." They weren't sure whether that meant she was awfully busy…or deceased. No one dared to ask.

Harry cleared his throat and everyone looked at him, "Okay. Well…I don't want to say this, but…say goodbye to your families tonight. Do any unfinished things that need to be done in case you don't…in case you don't make it."

George Weasley, now twenty-one years old, six feet tall, brown eyes, red hair and a few freckles, sat on his bed with an empty bag beside him.

His twin brother, who looked exactly like him incidentally (and was the same age), entered the room carrying a large backpack. "Ready?" Fred asked, in his best 'I'm scared but pretending not to be' voice.

George chuckled and looked at his bag, "Nope."

"We've got an hour, get a move on. You know how Harry is. Quite the stickler for time."

"Did you make all the arrangements for the Joke Shop?" George asked his brother, standing up and crossing to his closet.   
  
Fred sat on the edge of the bed, "Yeah, Lee's really excited to be taking care of it for a while."

  
George nodded squarely, "We might not make it back."

"No," agreed Fred, "We might not. If that's the case, we've got our wills and all that taken care of."

George stuffed a few t-shirts into his bag, "How can you be so nonchalant abut it?"

  
"Everything in life is a risk, George, and I don't intend to waste my life not taking them. Our sister is in trouble…and our friend. We need to help find them."

Sighing, George stuffed a few more articles of clothing into the bag. "I'm scared."  
  
Fred was taken aback by this statement. Neither of the twins were very up-front about their emotions. He stood up next to his brother. "We'll be together. You're not alone."  
  
"Thanks," replied George, a small smile on his lips. "Did you bring any canary creams?"

Fred grinned mysteriously, "Of course. Who do you think I am? Ron?"

Gemma Moon was pacing her flat in a cantankerous mess. Her bag was packed and she was ready to go, but she wasn't sure she actually wanted to go. She'd be turning twenty in a month and she had intended to spend it in style by going on a week's vacation to see her family in Canada. That didn't seem possible now.

Her job as an Auror was always challenging and always dangerous. But this was the Holy Grail of all her missions. This one would put, not only herselfm but seven of her Fellowship, her partner and a girl she'd only met once in grave danger. She was prepared, because she always was. But she was scared for the first time in her Auror life. She had this nagging feeling that someone wasn't going to make it out alive. And she thought that someone would probably be her.

Gemma's blue eyes gave her flat one more swift look before she swept up her bag and rushed out the door. If she hadn't left then, she wouldn't have at all.

  


Always cool, always calm and always collected Harry Potter shoved a pair of socks into his backpack and looked around his London flat once more. He hoped it wouldn't be the last time he saw it. He slumped into a big comfy chair awaiting his fellows.

Ron Weasley munched on a peanut butter sandwich as he double checked his flat, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He may not have been nervous or scared now, but he would be later. And he knew it.

Seamus Finnigan wanted nothing more than to become an Executive Auror and he figured this was his big chance. That was why he wasn't worried about dying. He was excited about this mission and anxious to get it underway. He was the first person to arrive at Harry's.

Justin Finch-Fletchley was saying goodbye to his goldfish, Chudley, with his bag at his feet. He was not scared about this mission. He just wanted to know if his family was alive. That was all he cared about. He arrived at Harry's a split second after Seamus.

Draco Malfoy's heart was beating so fast that he feared it would pop out of his chest. He wasn't scared of what lie ahead but he was scared to see Hermione again after two years. Even though they were both Aurors, he never saw her at the office and he never saw her outside the office either. He figured that's the way she wanted it, so he didn't try to find her. Now he would get his chance. He would save her and she would fall into his arms, suddenly madly in love with him. That's what he hoped, anyway. But that seemed like a fairy tale; a cliched ending to a bad romance film. Draco knew his hopes were high, but he also knew they weren't TOO high.

"Okay, Fellowship," Harry's strong voice carried to everyone in the small foyer. The eight of them were awaiting last instructions before Apparating. "This is it. There's no turning back once we get there, so if you're going to bag out, then please do it now."  
  
No one moved.

"Good," smiled Harry, "Let's go."

Small pops announced the eight members of the Fellowship's departure from London. 

They will laugh together, cry together and battle together. One of them will die, leaving the Fellowship at seven and one of them will betray, thus leaving the Fellowship at six. Sparks, curses and accusations will fly. The Fellowship will break, but not be broken. Darkness will threaten to overcome, but light will shine through.

Don't say I didn't warn you.


	6. Ready or Not

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Six - Ready or Not

The eight companions all arrived in Romania in one piece exactly five minutes after Apparating. 

Apparation of a long distance (like a different country) can really exhaust even the best of wizards. George and Fred collapsed on the ground after walking only an inch. Gemma clutched her heart, breathing slowly; she was not used to Apparating at all. Justin and Seamus both sank to the ground, yawning; they were used to Apparating, but had never gone further than the next town over.

Harry, Ron and Draco continued walking, unknowingly leaving some of their team behind. They were used to Apparating long distances, as they traveled four or five countries in just a day.

"Er…Harry?" Ron said, glancing back at his team mates, "I think we've lost some of the team."  
  
Harry shot a look back and put his hand out to stop Draco from walking any further. Ron had already turned around and walked back to the others.

"It's going to be dark in a couple hours. We should get to Sirius' before nightfall." Harry sighed, looking at his yawning team. "We could leave you here and come back later if you like."

Gemma jumped to her feet, not to keen on being separated from the Captain. Fred and George, looking like old men, slowly got up. Justin and Seamus helped each other and stood on tired feet.

Yawning and dragging, the Fellowship trekked across the mild terrain before entering a mountainous valley. 

"We're in the Carpathian Mountains," stated Draco as the team slowed to a stop to catch their breath.

"Which is where exactly?" Fred asked, gulping down some water and handing the bottle out to his twin.

"They enclose Romania on the North and East. We're in the East near the border to Moldova," answered Draco.

"Sirius' cave is just over this one right here," said Ron, pointing up the nearest mountain. The eight shielded their eyes to look up. The sun was partially hidden behind this huge piece of topography, but it still shown down enough to blind them slightly.

Harry sighed, "Okay. We've got a long climb ahead of us. So rest now for ten minutes and then we'll go."

All eight members fell to the ground gratefully. They began to gulp down water ferociously.

"Exactly what is on the other side of this mountain?" Gemma asked Draco, her breath steadying.

He looked at her, perhaps seeing her for the first time. He hadn't paid much attention to the other members of his team since he'd been so lost in thought. "Romania is made up of mountains, hills, valleys, slopes, plateaus, swamps and rivers, even. It's extremely varied. The Southeast is on the Black Sea." He swigged some water.

  
"Where'd you learn all that?" She asked, awed.

He shrugged, "Even though my Father didn't approve of Muggle Studies, I was quite keen to learn about the land. I took some Geography lessons during the summer. Plus, I studied Romania before we came here. Father made me do SOME studies pertaining to…well…things that he felt were important."

Gemma nodded, sensing an end of discussion.

"I'm impressed," said George Weasley from Draco's right side.

Draco shrugged, "It's nothing really. I don't know how much I have to remind you people but: I'm not my Father."  
  
"Obviously," agreed Fred.

"Do you speak Romanian?" Ron asked Draco, pulling a map out of his bag. "My brother, Charlie does."

"He would, wouldn't he. He works here." Draco pointed out. "I speak five languages but Romanian is not one of them."

"Where does Charlie work?" Seamus asked. "Which part of the country?"

"South," answered Ron vaguely. Either he didn't know the exact location, or he didn't want to divulge. From the look on his face, it seemed he wasn't told the exact location. Probably it was a security measure put forth by The Department of the Care of Highly Dangerous Magical Creatures, of which Charlie was a member.

"What languages do you speak?" Gemma asked Draco. He turned his attention back to her.

"You really want to know?" He chuckled slightly and shrugged. "English, obviously. French, German, Hungarian, and Austrian. Father, Mother and I spent quite a lot of time around here when I was a child. I was forced to learn the native languages. We had a summer home in France. A chalet in Austria, a castle in Hungary and a small home in Germany. The manor is in Britain." He looked around, "I haven't visited any of those places in two years. I kind of miss it, actually." Draco looked at Harry, wanting him to say something. He was tired of discussing his past.  
  
"Let's go," said Harry, cutting off any more questions. The remaining seven all stood and followed him up the mountain's rocky side.

"I (pant)…really (pant)…need (pant)…to (pant)…rest, (pant)…Harry." Justin sank to the ground, almost rolling down the entire length they had climbed so far. They were at the top of the mountain now and the sun was setting in the distance.

"We can't, Justin," said Harry, leaning down, "We have to make it to Sirius' by nightfall. It's not safe out here." He pulled Justin to his feet and led the team over the side of the mountain.

"So you were Hermione's partner at the Ministry?" Draco asked Gemma conversationally.

"Uh-huh, still am as far as I know." She looked down at her maroon robes and brushed off some invisible dirt.

"Right," nodded Draco. "Of course." He cleared his throat, pushing a branch aside so she could step past. He let it swing back after he'd passed it as well.

"OW! Shit! Draco!" Seamus was covering a bloody cut on the side of his face. Ron came up behind him, brandishing a bandage and scowling at Draco.

Draco shrugged, "Sorry. Didn't realize he was that close behind me."

Seamus let out a low growl under his breath and let Ron put the bandage on his cheek.

"Not even in battle yet and already bloodied up," teased Draco. "Too bad, Finnigan."  
  
Gemma giggled a little. Both Ron and Justin gave Draco angry glares. Fred and George held back snickers. Harry was too far ahead to notice the tension filling the cool evening air. He, as usual, was lost in his own Harry Potter world and very rarely let anyone in it with him.

"TROOPS!" Harry yelled up to them. He was standing on a small level area about 5 feet down, waiting for them. "GET A MOVE ON!"

Fred and George groaned, but picked up the pace and passed Gemma with two large jumps ahead. 

Seamus, rubbing his injured cheek, grumbled and followed. Ron tugged on Draco's elbow and pulled him down. Gemma held up the rear, walking as lady-like as she could even though it was hardly possible. Because of the trees and huge rocks blocking a clear, straight path, they had to zig-zag back and forth, winding in and out. It took double the time it would if it were an even line.

By the time the first stars were out, the Fellowship had reached the bottom of the mountain. But there was no cave in sight. They were in a valley with mountains close in on either side, with no visible break in the land that showed anything that could be a cave.

"Damn it," muttered Ron, sitting on a boulder and studying his magically altered map. "Are we in the wrong spot?"  
  
"You know, little brother," said George, leaning casually next to Ron's dangling legs, "I am sure that good old Sirius Black isn't staying in a normal bear cave. I mean, he is a wizard. One of the best, and used to being hidden. I highly doubt his cave would be visible to the naked eye."  
  
"Yes," agreed Ron. "Which is why I have this MAP." He stuck the map in his brother's face. George took hold of the map, skimming over it, his nose almost touching the crinkled paper. The map, very nearly like the Marauder's Map in idea, was a Muggle map of Romania's topography.   
  
"I do believe it needs to be turned on," said George after a moment's pause. "It just looks ordinary right now."

Fred took it, ran his hand along it and muttered some incomprehensible words. He smiled as he pulled it away from his face, "There!"

Ron took the map from his older brother and stuffed it in his belt as Fred went over to the edge of the mountain and tapped his wand against it.

"Opeana," he said quietly. A large slab of rock slid to the side. It was larger than the average door and almost big enough to fit a bus through. Fred looked very pleased with himself as he led the other members into the dimly lit cavern.

A large figure appeared out of nowhere in front of them a few seconds later. "Welcome to my grotto!" Sirius Black's booming voice welcomed them with open arms. Harry, of course, hugged him. As did Ron. The others waited nervously…yawning sporadically.

While Ron, Harry and Sirius caught up, Draco took time to examine the cave. It was huge, with lanterns admitting a small beam of light every 3 feet. He could see a long winding walk up ahead and looked forward to seeing what kind of space this wizard lived in. Draco had become very interested with Sirius Black ever since he'd been cleared. He almost, sort of, maybe looked up to him, even. Not that he'd ever admit it.

Sirius smiled at them all, "Well, let's get you settled. You must be beat after that long hike."

Fred and George looked so happy they probably could have kissed Sirius, but they held back and opted to follow him deeper into the cave instead.

Draco was in awe of this magically altered cave. It's ceilings held sparkly sterling silver candelabras while the walls were mostly blank stone. They passed a room that looked a lot like a huge (fully furnished) den complete with Muggle television. Sirius' bedroom had a window that looked out the front door. How Sirius did this, Draco wasn't sure. But he figured it might have been a Watcher Spell. You cast the spell on anything (wall, window, picture, cup) and it shows you what's happening at the front door (or back door in some cases). The Malfoy Manor had several of inanimate objects holding the Watcher Spell all over the place. Malfoys weren't much for the element of surprise.

Also included in the cavern's layout were a very generous kitchen, bathroom and living room. Way in the back of the cave held eight separate bedrooms that were all furnished the same. Draco figured Sirius had magically put them there earlier, he doubted the cave had held eight guest rooms beforehand. 

After a quick snack (on the Weasley twins insistence) the fellowship tucked into bed and all fell asleep the second their eyelids drifted shut.

The next morning, Draco awoke to the smell of bacon. His mouth was practically salivating at just the thought. As he coasted into the kitchen, he saw that the rest of his team were already assembled there and digging in to heaping portions of eggs, pancakes, waffles, French toast, home fries, white toast and of course, bacon.

He took the remaining seat next to Harry and dished up liberal amounts of scrambled eggs onto his plate. Harry, being the nice wizard he is, poured him some coffee and Ron, on his other side, poured orange juice.

Talk turned to the days activities as soon as Draco took the first bite of his massive breakfast.

"Where do we start?" Gemma asked, nibbling on toast.

"We know where Voldemort is…" began Harry. "But we don't know how to get there without being detected in the hundred mile radius."

"Can't we just Apparate outside the hundred mile radius?" Justin suggested, gobbling down orange juice.

"No," Ron shook his head, "They have detectors for Apparation…"  
  
"They can detect us no matter how we get there, then?" Seamus asked, looking pale.

  
"There's no way for surprise," nodded Draco. "And we're not even certain Hermione and Ginny are there."

"So this is a complete bust?" Fred asked, looking angry.

"No," said Harry calmly, "We just need to get in there without being noticed."

"How do we get in there without being noticed?" Gemma voiced the question that was on everyone else's tongue.

  
"We become invisible," said Draco.   
  
"Easier said than done," scoffed Seamus who was still quite mad with Draco about the branch incident.

"Not really," said Harry, stretching his arms above his head. "They have Apparation detectors and a hundred mile radius alarm…and guards every 400 feet around that radius…Draco."

  
"Hmm?" Draco asked, looking up from his plate. "Oh right." He wiped his mouth free of crumbs, "To fool the Apparation detectors (so to speak) we'll have to walk there and make camp along the way. It's a four day walk. Then, once at the line, we'll over take the guards. There are only four and they switch every 24 hours. There are eight of us. Four of them. Two on one. THIS is the simple part." He took a breath, "After that, we'll sneak in at the 24 hour mark. Unnoticed. Two to a uniform. The alarm only goes off OUTSIDE of those 5 minutes within the switching hour. We've got 5 minutes to get inside…once inside, we pretend to be and become the guards. No one will notice. It'll be a cinch."

"Who…or what are the guards?" George Weasley asked, a hint of a grin on his lips.

Harry cleared his throat, looked to Draco to dish out the bad news. "Dementors."

Groans erupted around the table. The loudest came from Fred, "Oy! There is nothing to worry about! It's only some really, really tall creatures who suck the souls out of the living and feast on despair!"

Many people told Fred to shut up. George hit his brother in the back of the head. "You are NOT helping."

Sirius, who had been quiet up to now, stood up. "Come on, you lot. It's doable. You all know the spell to keep them back. I know you all learned it in the Dark Prevention class among your other Auror classes. Expecto Patronum won't be hard for you. Fred and George, you didn't take that class…so you'll have to learn it."

Fred gulped, "Er…actually---" He looked at his brother, for Fred seemed to have lost the use of his voice. This was unfortunate, as it happened every time he was nervous.  
  
George took over, "Harry taught us in our seventh year how to do it." He shrugged, "We're just not that good at it. I don't know as if we could keep a butterfly away."

Sirius sighed, "Well, you'll just do your best. If you concentrate on a happy memory, they won't have any affect on you."  


Everyone, but Harry, looked very apprehensive; it was his job to keep the fellowship's spirits high so they were in good condition to fight.

  
"We leave here tomorrow morning, crack of dawn," stated Harry firmly. "Ready or not."


	7. In The Cavern

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Seven - In The Cavern

It was damp, dreary, dark and depressing. Water somewhere was dripping in a slow, pitter-patter motion. It sounded like a leaking sink…but it couldn't have been; there was no sink in the immediate vacinity. Stone surrounded them on all sides; no light could be seen, there were no windows.

It was the kind of place that created nightmares, the kind of place that evil creatures lusted after, the kind of place that caused insanity in a matter of moments. The kind of place that brought out all your fears and made you feel as if you'd never been cheerful again.

Hermione lifted her head, surveying her surroundings the best she could. She felt all around her, her fingertips scratching against the cold, hard stone to her right side. She pulled them back in pain, but then began her search again. She felt around the walls with her palms, feeling the smoothness of granite turning into the sharpness of an unpolished diamond. She couldn't see anything despite the fact that her eyes were wide open. As her eyes tried their best to adjust to the darkness, she cursed herself for not being part cat. 

She sighed and sat back, leaning against one of the walls. It was cold on her bare back. She realized suddenly that she wasn't nude, but her robes were completely tattered and ripped the entirety of the back side. Tears filled her eyes and cascaded down her swollen, hurting and ashen cheeks. She knew she was filthy just by running a hand through her matted hair. The hair that had once been completely frizzy and poofy was completely stuck to her skull. When she licked her lips to moisten the intense dryness, she tasted caked-on blood. Her muscles ached with a pain that suggested she'd been beaten up quite horribly. What the hell had happened to her? More importantly, where was she?

Sighing again, she rubbed her arms to keep warm. It was drafty in this place. Hermione assumed she was in some sort of man-made cave (or wizard-made, her brain reasoned), but she couldn't be sure. Her eyes could barely make out the outlines of jutting rock and a slumped figure in the corner. She didn't want to know who…or what it was.

The tears began flowing so fast that she didn't bother mopping them up. Soon, the tears turned to sobs she could no longer control. She bent over her knees and cried more than she could remember ever having cried before.

Hermione was shaking now, from the raking sobs cursing through her body and from the oppressive cold. It chilled her right down to the bone. Feeling around in her robes, she tried desperately to find her wand. Of course, it was gone.

"Think, Hermione, think," she leaned her head back against the stone wall and searched her brain for the last memory she possessed.

Screaming.

That's all she could remember. Just lots and lots of screaming, screeching; someone reaching out; someone crying; someone with a wand pointed at her face; someone grabbing Ginny around the waist, red hair whipping around her friend's face.

A black cloak, a deep, dark and evil laugh that made her shiver with fright.

"NO!" Hermione cried, standing up and hitting her head so hard that she fell right back down. She looked up and could see that the ceiling of this place was not high. It couldn't have reached more than five feet tall. Her head was spinning from the intense blow to the head, but she refused to let herself loose consciousness.

A whimper entered Hermione's awareness. She looked around frantically, searching for the owner of the whimper.

"GINNY!?" Hermione yelled as loud as she could manage. Her voice sounded quite unlike her own, hoarse and raspy, like a croak. She felt, suddenly, like a feeble old man on his death bed. She felt useless…she hated that. Hermione Granger did not do helplessness well.

"Hermione," said a very low, quiet whisper to Hermione's left.   
  
Hermione's mind screamed, "The figure in the corner is Ginny! It's just Ginny!"

She got to her hands and knees and hysterically searched the cavern's floor. Her hands brushed dirt and small rocks, but she couldn't manage to get to where Ginny lay.

"Ginny," cried Hermione in a hissing whisper.

"I'm over here," Ginny said, and coughed. Hermione's fingertips brushed something that felt like soft blankets and she knew she'd found her friend. Hermione engulfed Ginny in a very tight hug, nearly crushing the poor girl to death.

Ginny, as far as Hermione could see, was much worse off than herself. Her hair was spiked up in odd directions, indicating that she was quite sweaty and had pushed her hair back off her face; her nails were all broken (Hermione knew this because she had taken Ginny's hand and felt that her nails were all gone); she was shivering beyond control and her words were few and far between. She seemed to have been completely shocked by something, or completely scared out of her wits. Probably the latter, Hermione reasoned.

Ginny was grasping at Hermione as if her life depended on it. The older witch was beginning to wonder if Ginny was ill…mentally or physically.

"Where---where are we?" Ginny stuttered, rubbing her arms for warmth. Hermione put her arms around her friend, trying to keep her warm.

"I don't know. It's too dark to tell. I don't even know if there's a door." Hermione looked around the harsh cavern. "I don't remember how we got here."  
  
"That's because they knocked you out first," muttered Ginny sardonically.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, taken aback. "What do you remember, Gin?"

Ginny gulped, a low sob escaping her throat as she did so, "Death Eaters. So many of them…Hermione, don't you remember what they did to your family? What they did to us?"

Hermione's eyes clouded over, but she shook the sadness away, "No. No, what happened?"

Ginny violently shook her head, "I don't…I don't want to say, Hermione. Please don't make me."  
  
The young girl sounded so miserable that Hermione didn't have the heart to press her for knowledge.

"We need to get out of here," Ginny said suddenly, shaking more feverously. Her voice sounded cracked and horror-filled. "We need to get out of here now."

Immediately after the words were out of her mouth, Hermione knew why. 

Footsteps.

Soft, clunking footsteps approached.

*

"BLASTED SAND!" Draco cursed as more sand flew into his mouth from the dry desert they'd been walking on for the last forty-five minutes. They had been walking, however, the entire day. It was nearing sunset now. "I have more sand in my mouth than a toddler at the beach!"

Gemma giggled slightly; George and Fred both smiled; Seamus seemed quite satisfied with this news.

"Stop shuffling your feet," Ron commanded from ahead of him, "You're kicking dirt up."  
  
"Weasley," replied Draco calmly, marching now instead of walking, "YOU are putting the sand in my mouth with your great big feet! They're clown feet, honestly, Weasley! Have them surgically removed and save your friends from the horror of dying because of too much sand intake!"

Harry chuckled, "Draco, stop being so dramatic."

Ron looked back at him, eyebrow raised, "Why don't you use your wand to put a protective shield around you so that the sand can't penetrate it?"

Draco stopped walking instantly, "Ron Weasley! That is the smartest thing I've ever heard you say!" Draco pointed his wand at himself, muttered a few well-chosen words, and then was quiet for a while, humming happily to himself.

"Can you die from too much sand intake?" Fred asked after a while.

Draco looked at him, and when he spoke, his voice was slightly muffled due to the invisible bubble around his head, "Of course you can. I read about it in some Muggle magazine. National Geographic, I believe." Draco adjusted his backpack straps and continued to walk, this time next to Harry. The two of them proceeded to speak in quiet whispers while Ron looked on, nodding to himself.

"Draco's so learned," remarked Gemma to no one in particular.

"He's a prat," retorted Seamus, "A massive one."

Justin cleared his throat, brushing sand from around his half-beard, "Actually, he's not that bad. I mean, he was in school of course…but now he's quite alright."

Seamus rolled his eyes, "Easy for you to say, Justin, you don't get hit with his leftover branches."  
  
"It was merely a twig," argued Fred, grinning. "Not a branch."  
  
"No way, dear brother, it was a branch…a very large one," George said, nodding to Seamus, who nodded back.

It seemed the Fellowship had decided that keeping the mood around them light was the way to go. If you let yourself get sucked into the unhappiness, it becomes very hard to get back out.

Draco and Harry had stopped talking by now and were setting their packs down by a large boulder. The rest of the team thankfully (and with lots of sighs of relief) fell around them, laying on their bags and panting.

"When we get home, I'm going to get fit…the gym everyday!" George stated, raising his fist slightly into the air.

His twin snorted, "It'll never happen." George was too weak to retaliate.

"How much further for today?" Seamus asked, swigging down some water.

  
"About a mile," Draco answered, "Then we'll rest for the night. Tomorrow, no more magic. It's traceable already, but as we get closer the odds go against us."

Everyone nodded in understanding. 

"No more magic," sighed Gemma. "Bloody hell."  
  
Harry grinned, "It'll be fine. We can handle it. We all had to during summer holidays, right?"

Draco shrugged, "I did magic during the summer holidays. The longest I've gone without doing magic is, I think, two hours." He shook his head sadly, "I'm going to die."

Seamus, "You probably shouldn't joke about death, Draco."  
  
Draco looked up at him suddenly, "You're right. I'm sorry."  
  
Seamus nearly fell over from shock.


	8. Absolute Torture

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Eight - Absolute Torture

"Hermione," Ginny whimpered, her eyes fixed on where the sound of footsteps was coming from. 

Hermione's very quick and swift mind came to the conclusion that they were basically out in the middle of nowhere, unarmed, being held captive and they had no hope of an escape.

It seemed death was upon their door.

However, Hermione refused to let it in.

She jumped from her fetal position and went into a Kung-Fu stance that would have made Ginny giggle under normal circumstances.

The footsteps halted when they were nearly on top of the prisoners. A cough sounded, echoing around the small space; hoarse, evil, male and possibly deadly. Those were the only thoughts that registered in Hermione's mind when that cough was heard.

The sour stench of sweat entered Hermione's nostrils and she stepped back from where she supposed there was a door, and their captor outside it.

There was the rustling of starched cloth, probably crisp pants or a robe, and then a weird slithering sound.

"Get back against the wall, Ginny," Hermione ordered quietly and Ginny did as she was told, tears streaming down her dirty face.

The sound of rock being moved was next, and then a slopping sound as a tray of some sort was passed beneath a small doggie-door. Hermione saw light stream through the opening for a split second; saw the black combat boots of the man, saw the dark ebony color of the robes that brushed across his shoe-laces.

The door closed abruptly and the footsteps retreated. Hermione breathed a deep sigh of relief as more tears escaped Ginny's tired eyes.

"It's just food," Hermione assured her friend, going slowly in the direction of the tray. She had seen, while the light still existed, two moldy pieces of French bread and two bowls of what could have been pea soup…but it didn't matter. It was food. Nourishment would be needed.

Hermione feebly picked the tray up and brought it to Ginny. She sat beside her and handed her a piece of bread. "You have to eat, Ginny. Come on."  
  
"We're never getting out of here," Ginny wailed, rubbing her eyes with her free hand before staring at the bread as if it were a foreign object.

"Ginny," Hermione said, her voice very strong and demanding. It surprised her that she could muster that much conviction. "Optimism is not dead. Repeat that in your head. Now, you HAVE to eat. And you have got to buck up, Gin. I need you…we need to be here for each other. You're not alone, okay? I'm here. Just hang in there. We will get out of here. I'm sure there's a search party already out there looking for us."  
  
As the reassuring words left her mouth, she highly doubted there was any truth behind them. Hermione would be brave for her friend, but she didn't think she could be brave for herself.

*

Darkness settled upon the sky and upon the hearts of the fellowship as Harry stoked the tiny fire they'd managed to create.

"Are you SURE we won't be detected?" Seamus asked nervously, biting into a piece of bread. He glanced around him as if they were surrounded and would undergo attack at a moment's notice.

  
"Seamus, we're dealing with wizards and as such…they won't try to detect Muggle things," Draco stated convincingly. "I'm positive they won't. They're smart, and they're stupid."

"That's contradictory," commented Gemma, daintily sipping her water.

"It's just like…okay." Draco set his bowl down and looked at his fellows. Harry raised an eyebrow, looking forward to a long explanation; Ron rolled his eyes, dreading the aforementioned long explanation. "People who commit crimes…they plan, the commit the crime, they have everything set…everything's perfect. But they ALWAYS slip up. There's always one thing that they forget to do. Normally something simple. This is what we're dealing with. Smart criminals who will overlook a trivial thing such as Muggle 'magic.'" He put finger quotes over 'magic' to give them the full effect. 

Harry nearly clapped just to be annoying, but decided against it. George and Fred were holding back on jokes and pranks, so he would too. 

"They won't think to look for something so minuscule as a fire if it's not conjured by magic." Draco picked his bowl up again, signaling end of discussion.

Everyone around the fire seemed satisfied with this. There was silence for a while, allowing everyone to his or her own thoughts about what lie ahead.

"Do you think---" Ron swallowed, "---Do you think there's any way Hermione and Ginny are alive?"

The Fellowship all exchanged unknowing glances.   
  
Harry cleared his throat so that everyone would look at it him, "I think it's possible."

"Jesus, Harry. Come up with something better than that! This is a blind mission, mate! I need SOMETHING to hold onto. Otherwise, Christ, I think I'm just walking into battle for no good reason." Ron threw his fork to the ground, and then set his plate down beside it before crossing his arms across his chest and blowing a stray piece of red hair out of his face.

Draco's eyes were downcast; Fred and George (on either side of Ron) had their hands on his back for comfort, Gemma was shivering from the cold; Seamus and Justin talked between themselves so quietly that no one heard over the rhythmic crackling of the fire. Harry watched Ron, his eyes conveying no emotion other than sympathy.

"They're alive," Draco said suddenly, his voice barely above a whisper, "They have to be. Otherwise…I don't know what we'll do." He shrugged, looking up at everybody. "They have to be alive. I can feel it. Can't you?"  
  
Harry swallowed hard, "I can feel it. I…I had a dream last night. Hermione and Ginny, they were in this awful rat-invested cell all alone. They were both sleeping…I don't know if it's reality right now, but it gave me hope. At least even a little bit."

No one spoke for the remainder of the night. They all turned in shortly after the tense discussion, vowing to wake by sunrise to get a head start. They'd need it, if they hoped to get to Hermione and Ginny in time.

As Draco lay stirring in his sleeping bag, his consciousness changed and he began a fitful dream.

Flashes: bright light at the end of a tunnel; a cavern with water dripping throughout its makeshift halls; a small enclosed room that held a sobbing girl and a determined girl. Hermione looked up, right at him, and mouthed 'I love you.' 

Draco woke up in a cold sweat. He wiped his face with his shirtsleeve and lay back down, the hard rock below him jutting into his back.

They were alive, he knew it. And he knew they would save Ginny and Hermione without a doubt.

Even if he had to die trying, he would save them.


	9. Bleed Just To Know You're Alive

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Nine - Bleed Just To Know You're Alive

As the days ticked on, Ginny was getting progressively worse and Hermione was getting progressively pissed off. She became stronger through her anger, practicing kick-boxing that Lavender had taught her just mere weeks ago. Ginny was lifeless, her eyes bland, hallow and uncaring. Hermione didn't know what to make of this…but there wasn't much she could do without her wand. So she fed the younger girl and that was all there was to do.

Hermione wished with all her might that they'd be rescued…but her hopes dwindled as she marked the days gone by on the stone wall with a loose pebble. They'd been there for at least a week, maybe longer. She couldn't tell how long they were there before she'd awoken, and Ginny was no help.

A picture flashed through Hermione's mind as she gobbled up soup that day. Draco Malfoy.

  
Why the hell was she thinking about him? She'd done everything she could to avoid him all these years and here he was cropping into her mind. He'd hurt her really badly in school, until about seventh year when he completely changed. She didn't trust him; she didn't trust the old Malfoy or the new Draco. She didn't know why. He became an Auror, like she, Harry and Ron. He had gone to Auror classes with her, she'd ignored him, irritated only by his presence. Hermione, playing psychologist one day, analyzed her feelings of animosity towards him and came up with one answer.

She liked him.

That, above anything else, made her the angriest and that was why she avoided him at all costs. He'd changed, she knew this, she'd noticed. His outward appearance only got more "studly" as Lavender and Ginny once said; his inward appearance changed for the good. This scared her, and it intrigued her.   
  
But no matter what he did to get her attention, she always ignored him. She could tell he was angered by this, but she didn't care. All she knew was that the feelings she had for him were going to go away whether she liked it or not. She'd stop liking him, and it'd be easiest if he didn't invade her eyesight.

He tried, she could tell, to get her to at least speak with him, but on every occasion she flat out refused. He probably figured she still held a school grudge against him. Oh, if only it were that simple.

In the gloom of the cave, she waited, with no company to keep her sane. And she thought about him…and she missed him.

Hermione's eyes closed for a second and she felt very faint. She knew this moment would come soon, she just didn't know how soon. Fainting didn't seem like the best option, but there weren't that many other options to choose from.

  
Beside her, Ginny let out a tiny moan of pain. 

Hermione was in agony, she could feel herself going slowly insane. She had nothing to do but wait, wonder and slowly die. She hated this and she wanted out.

Picking up a ragged pebble, Hermione sliced her arm, watching as the red liquid flowed from the cut. "You bleed just to know you're alive…I'm still alive. Briefly." She sounded detached from the world and oblivious to the tiny prick of pain coming from the cut. She watched as little drops of deep red fluid trickled to the floor.

"Hermione," muttered Ginny, her head moving back and forth. "Hermione."

Hermione went to her side, momentarily back on earth. She felt her forehead, "What, Gin? What is it?"  
  
"They're coming, Hermione. They're coming." Her eyes flew open, the brown completely gone, replaced by inky blackness.

"Who's coming? GINNY!" Hermione shook her friend slightly as Ginny's eyes closed once more and she lost consciousness again.

Hermione slumped against the cave's icy wall. "I can't take much more of this." She let the ragged pebble drop from her fingertips and she closed her eyes at last, allowing sleep to fall over her.

*

The Fellowship were nearing the secret hideout just as the sun came up. Luckily, for them, they had been cloaked in darkness up until now, so that there was no way Voldemort's army had seen their approach.

"Alright," whispered Draco urgently, as the hideout came into view.

"That's it?" Gemma asked, staring at the structure before her. It looked like nothing more than a sand mound in the desert, but Draco knew better. He'd been told about this place by his father, when Draco had still been in "the inner circle" of Death Eaters. He knew this was the place. 

Appearances, Draco knew better than anyone else, can always be deceiving.

"Yeah," replied Draco without pause, he had no time to dilly-dally with explanations. "Now, the guards will be switching soon so be on alert." The Fellowship ducked behind a very large bush. It was odd how in the desert there was so much flora around them. Draco knew this was magically done so that the hideout was covered, although it looked more conspicuous WITH the shrubbery.

Seamus and Harry got down on their hands and knees and went as fast as they could to the other side of the building. Fred and George followed, they'd take the other two guards over there. Justin and Gemma scooted to the left, to get directly in front of their two guards and Draco and Ron (paired together for no reason anyone could comprehend) stayed put.

The coldness that threatened to overcome every fellowship member was practically blinding, but they all saw through it. It was easy enough to stun the Dementors; they may have been evil, large and dead, but they were quite stupid. This worked to the Fellowship's advantage. 

At least until something went wrong.

While Ron, Draco, Fred, George, Seamus and Harry were all dressing in the long black cloaks the Dementors wore, Gemma and Justin were fighting for their lives.

A icy cold shower washed over Justin and he could feel himself lose all consciousness. Beside him, Gemma screamed out, sending a jet of green sparks in the direction of Draco and Ron.

Draco heard the scream, saw the spark, and rushed to their side, Ron running alongside him.

Gemma, presumably, did all she could to ward off the approaching Dementors, but they advanced on Justin, kneeling down beside his cold and lifeless body.

When Draco and Ron got there, it was too late. Gemma lay beside her fallen fellowship member, crying. Draco sent his Patronus in the direction of the Dementors (who were moving in on a stunned Ron) and they collapsed in a heap of blackness.

Justin's eyes stared up at the sky, right through Gemma as if she weren't even there.

"Oh, my God," whispered Draco, dropping to the ground beside Gemma. "What----"  
  
"They killed him, Draco," Gemma's tears were blurring her vision and sliding down her cheeks at an alarming rate. Ron looked on, stupefied, but not by magic; by sadness.

Tears welled up in Draco's eyes, but he didn't cry. "They didn't kill him, Gemma…They performed the Dementor's Kiss…"  
  
"I couldn't stop them! I was cold all over! I saw…I saw my family being burned at the stake! I, Draco…I'm…I'm so sorry! I killed him! I killed Justin!" Gemma crumpled over onto Justin's unmoving body.

Draco grabbed Gemma strongly by the shoulders, a tear escaping his eye that he didn't even try to hide from view, "You did NOT kill him, Gemma. Those monsters did. You did everything you could…they're strong. It's not your fault. You weren't prepared enough..." Draco shook his head, "Don't blame yourself. It'll only make you go insane faster." Draco wiped at his eyes, removing the threatening tears.

Ron slid to the ground, his hand on Gemma's shoulder. "Gemma…I'm so sorry."

Gemma continued to cry, heart wrenching sobs, this time she leaned over onto Ron and embraced him. Ron patted her back awkwardly.

Draco took his WW out of his pocket and dialed Harry's number.

"Draco?" Harry said into his phone.

"Harry…Justin is down."

"WHAT?" Harry demanded. "We're nearly inside, get going! We have to move fast, the switch is happening in sixty seconds."  
  
"HARRY," said Draco forcefully, "JUSTIN is DOWN."

There was a pause, and some crackling over the line. "Draco," came Harry's faraway voice. "You have forty seconds."  
  
"I can't leave him, he'll die if we don't get him some help," snapped Draco, angry that Harry wasn't even bothering to care that one of his men was down.  
  
"He's as good as dead," replied Harry, his voice cracking…he was probably crying. Harry sniffed, "Have Gemma…have her put him behind that bush where we were. Have her stay with him…if she thinks she can handle it. I don't think she'll be any good in battle right now."  
  
"Alright," said Draco, his voice stronger now. "Alright."

"Twenty seconds," came Harry's voice before they heard a tell-tale click…he'd disconnected his phone.

Ron and Draco pulled Gemma and Justin's body behind the bush. Draco gave Gemma strict instructions not to move, Gemma was too much in shock not to listen.

Ron and Draco pulled the Dementor cloaks behind them and rushed to their post. They had two seconds remaining.

The switch happened on time, and soon the Fellowship (minus two) were inside the building.

The group all ended up in the same room, it was dreary and cold, like a jail cell. Everyone took their hoods off.

"Won't the Dementors notice that we were missing two?" Fred asked, panting and out of breath.

"No, I took care of it," muttered Harry, wiping his glistening forehead. "I used magic…but I took care of it. I sent the bodies back to England, to the Ministry. They'll take care of them."  
  
Draco nodded solemnly, "We should try and find Hermione and Ginny."

Ron stared at him suddenly, "You---"  
  
"I what, Ron?" Draco asked hotly.

  
"Nothing," replied Ron hastily. "Let's go save my sister and best friend."

  
Harry nodded squarely, "Helmets on." He pulled the cloak over his head, and everyone else did the same.

"Will Gemma be okay?" George asked worriedly.

"No," answered Draco truthfully, "But she'll live."  
  
Seamus shook his head, "That was her first time really seeing death…at least of someone she liked, maybe loved."  
  
"Finch-Fletchley and Moon had a thing?" Draco asked incredulously.

  
Seamus shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine, Drac." Draco raised an eyebrow at the use of a nickname. "My best friend is dead. I have no time for animosity…especially towards you." Seamus wiped his eyes, Draco hadn't noticed he'd been crying until that moment. 

Draco clapped Seamus on the shoulder and went to stand behind Harry. "We'll split up," said Harry, quietly. "If there's an emergency, use the special distress signal."

Everyone nodded and followed Harry out of the room. They ended up in a very long, very dark and narrow corridor.   
  
"Jesus," muttered Draco. "It's a fucking maze."

"The trouble has just begun," stated Harry numbly. "Let's go. We don't have much time."


	10. Breaking Down, Breaking Out

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Ten - Breaking Down, Breaking Out

So this is odd

A painful realization   
That all has gone wrong

And nobody cares at all

Hermione's eyes flipped open and she surveyed the deadened room once more. Ginny was fast asleep, her breathing regular and slow. Or maybe she was in a coma, it was hard to tell since Hermione wasn't a doctor in any sense.

All she knew was that they had to get out soon, or they wouldn't get out alive at all.

It was painful for Hermione to watch one of her best friends slowly die right in front of her…especially when there was nothing she could do about it.

She prayed that someone would be there soon. When she heard scuffling footsteps at the door a little while later, her heart leapt and she crawled over, her ear pushed against the cold stone.

"Hermione," came a whispered female voice, "Hermione, I'm going to get you out of here."

"GEMMA!?" Hermione cried, then lowered her voice for fear of being heard, "Gemma, you have to get us out of here. Ginny's really ill…"  
  
"Step back from the door, Hermione," Gemma said forcefully, waiting to hear Hermione do as she was told. When Hermione gave her the go-ahead, a blast sent the stone door flying into the room. When it landed, Ginny jumped to her feet, cowering against Hermione, who tried her best to sooth her.

Gemma stepped over the door, rubble crushing beneath it. "Come on. We have to get out of here. I think I hear someone coming!"  
  
Hermione listened but didn't hear anything. "Gemma, are you okay?"  
  
"Of course I am!" Gemma yelled, her eyes flashing angrily. She seemed to be quite overly dramatic. "Come on!" She took Ginny and Hermione's hands and pulled them from the awful little room. 

Outside the room wasn't much better. All Hermione could see, wherever she looked, was darkness and stone. They were in a narrow passageway, that possibly led up…there was a slight inclination almost as if the room they'd been in had been settled upon a very shallow hole. "Can you light your wand?"  
  
"No!" snapped Gemma, "I mean, no. We don't want to risk being seen."  
  
Hermione didn't seem to like the way Gemma was acting, but she didn't try and stop her. She was finally free, she might as well wait until they got outside before she asked Gemma if she'd suddenly turned into someone quite unlike her normal self. Desperation does crazy things to people.

The only sound as the three girls walked up the passageway were Gemma's shoes clicking on the stone floor and the padding of Hermione and Ginny's bare feet. Ginny was falling in and out of consciousness, having to be held up by Hermione and Gemma on each side. Things were getting worse for her.

'Draco,' thought Hermione, 'where is Draco?'

__

And the ringing from this empty sound

Is deafening and keeping you from sleep

And breathing is a foreign task

And thinking's just too much to ask

"Hermione," whispered Draco, stopping short and looking to his right. "Harry…I just…"  
  
"You heard her in your head, didn't you," stated Harry evenly. Ron, Fred, George and Seamus all exchanged weird glances.

Draco looked confused, that much Harry could see in the dark. "Yeah, but how did you---"  
  
"Where is she?" Harry cut him off.   
  
Draco pointed to his right and looked down, "I'm only guessing…I don't really know. I think it descends…we better watch our step."

  
"It's probably a trap," said Fred cautiously. "Shouldn't we…you know…check it out first?"  
  
"How?" Ron demanded, "We're running out of time! We can't stay in this freaking maze forever."

George put a calm hand on his younger brother's shoulder, "Ron. It'll be okay."

Ron shook him off, "It's not going to be okay, George. It's never going to be okay."

Draco sighed heavily, Harry looked forlorn and weary, Seamus looked near to tears.

"I'll go," Fred offered suddenly, "If it is a trap, at least it'll just be me who gets caught. Wait five minutes, if I don't give you a signal that it's okay…leave me and go on."

"We're not leaving you and going on!" George cried angrily in desperation.

Fred looked at Harry square in the eye, telling him without words that there was no other choice. Harry nodded, "Okay," he said to Fred, who began to slowly walk down the dark hallway.

After five minutes, there was no sound in the miniscule corridor. It was getting colder by the second, as if they'd suddenly fallen into the Arctic. Draco shivered, "We should move on."  
  
George shuddered, "No. No, we can't."  
  
Harry put a hand on George's shoulder, "He'll be okay, but we have to go on and make sure Hermione and Ginny are okay. That's our priority. You can go after Fred if you want…the rest of us have to go look for them." Harry gave him a helpless half-smile and began walking in the other direction.

Ron embraced his brother very briefly before following Harry with Draco and Seamus. George decided in a split second where he'd be going. He jumped down the tunnel his brother had taken and disappeared from sight.

Seamus, Ron, Harry and Draco had been walking for at least twenty minutes when Draco finally gave up. His heart was beating faster than ever before in his life, his palms were sweaty and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and die.

  
"There's some sort of depression spell on this place," Draco breathed, inhaling sharply and deliberately. "I can't fight it anymore." Draco slid to the ground, clutching his knees to his chest and resting his head on his knees. The stance of defeat.

"Draco," said Harry sternly. "Get up. Let's go."

Ron and Seamus looked ready to collapse. "I'm going ahead," said Ron suddenly, his eyes flicking over Draco's limp body.

"I'm going with him," stated Seamus firmly, his jaw set.

Harry could do nothing but let them go. They crept out of sight and he slid to the ground beside Draco.

"Drac…" Draco looked up, his gray eyes clouded over with tears. His mouth was set in a frown and his forehead was ceased with worry. "I know you love her, Drac. You can't just let her die. I love her too, in a different way. And I'm NOT going to let her die."

Draco took a shuddering breath, "I don't know if I can make it, Harry. I feel so weak."

"We all do," Harry assured him, "But we're holding in there…and you have to, too. I can't do this without you."

Draco chuckled sarcastically, "Yeah. Right."

"She needs you," Harry said forcefully. "WE need you. I am not going to just leave you here…but we have to keep moving. It's been significantly too easy so far…I'm worried about that." He looked around worriedly. "Let's keep going. Let's find Ginny and Hermione. It's what we came to do. I know you're not a quitter."  
  
Draco looked up sharply, "I am not quitter, Potter."  
  
"I know," Harry said softly, tugging on Draco's arm, trying to push him up. It didn't work. "Draco. Please." Harry stood up, glancing around. He looked down at Draco, "If you stay here and die, you'll never be able to tell her how you feel."  
  
"I love her," Draco said, shrugging hopelessly, "I can't even explain why."  
  
"You don't have to," said Harry, hauling Draco to a standing position. "Follow closely behind me." Harry took off down the corridor, listening intently for footsteps that didn't belong to he or Draco. 

Draco, his head not really where it should be, followed Harry closely. He felt detached from his surroundings, but he was trying very hard to push through the fog that was obscuring his brain.

__

This is incredible, starving, insatiable

Yes this is love for the first time

Well you'd like to think that you were invincible

Yeah, well, weren't we all once

Before we felt loss for the first time

This is the last time

Suddenly, as if someone had just flicked on a light switch, the cavern illuminated, filling with orangey light so bright that both Draco and Harry had to shield their eyes. They soon heard footsteps running towards them; Fred and George literally ran into them soon after.

Harry, knocked off balance, shouted out; Draco steadied him and then looked to Fred and George. "What was down there?"  
  
Fred and George were both panting, their eyes alive with glinting horror, "Voldemort. Voldemort was down there." George clutched his heart, "He was in this room…he's…he's at full power. In full form. It was---it was awful."  
  
"Was he alone?" Draco demanded.

  
Fred nodded, "There was no one with him. We ran back up because we didn't want to get caught. There was only one little room down there and it was his. Hermione and Ginny weren't there."  
  
"So he is here. Just as I suspected," Harry muttered, squinting at the orange light. "He probably knows we are too. We have to find Ron and Seamus."

"We're right here," said Ron, limping up to them, Seamus holding onto him with one hand. They had just emerged from somewhere behind Draco and Harry. 

Neither Draco nor Harry had realized there was anything behind them but stone. 

"This freaking place is filled with crossing paths," said Seamus, shaking his head in disgust. "There's no way we'll ever find them in here."

"It's hopeless," agreed Fred, leaning against the wall behind him and putting his hand in front of his eyes, to ease the glare.

"What's up there?" Ron asked suddenly, pointing to the light.

  
"I dunno," answered Draco slowly, "But we should find out."  
  
"I'm not sure I want to," George said, backing away slightly.

"Forget this," snapped Draco, sighing heavily. "HERMIONE!!!!!!!"

"DRACO!" Harry yelled, "That was so bloody stupid! You just freaking gave them a tracking device on us."

"It's not as if they didn't already know we were here," replied Draco irately.

Harry surveyed him, processing his thoughts. Finally, he nodded slowly. "You're right."  
  
"HERMIONE! GINNY!" Ron yelled, hobbling past Harry and Draco and towards the orange light.

"RON!!!!!!!" Came a very distant, but strong reply. "DRACO!"

Draco and Ron looked at each other for a brief moment before taking off at a run down the hall. 

Harry looked petrified, "Ron! Get back here! Draco!"

"BLOODY HELL!" Seamus screamed, taking off after them. Harry looked at Fred and George, who were both very pale with fright.

  
"We better follow them," muttered Harry, before darting off into the orange light.

After a few feet, the orange light dissipated and revealed such a sight that Harry dropped to his knees and put a hand over his mouth. Fred and George collided with him, falling to the ground from the impact.

Draco sat on the ground, horrified, next to a very frightened Ron and an extremely twitchy Seamus.

"Hermione," murmured Draco feverishly, "Hermione…"

Towering above all of them, on a large stone wall was a circular glass contraption which looked like a Muggle television. It was showing a scene…a scene that was anything but happy. The orange light had been coming from it, it seemed. The replying voice, the one that sounded like Hermione's…no one was sure where that came from. 

On the screen above them, that's what was frightening.

Gemma, wearing a long black cloak which was rolled up at the sleeves revealing the Dark Mark embedded on her skin, was harshly dragging a limp Ginny and a very obviously stupefied Hermione into the forest just outside where they sat. They'd passed that small forest on their way inside the building. It's where they'd left Gemma and Justin beforehand. Suddenly, Gemma dropped Ginny and released the binding spell on Hermione. The ropes slithered from Hermione's wrists and legs like snakes.

Gemma grinned maliciously and raised her wand at Hermione and Ginny. "Aveda Kedavra."

The scene vanished into a cloud of green smoke. Now that the glass was no longer of importance, the fellowship could clearly see where they sat.

Draco gasped loudly.

All around the room stood several hundred Death Eaters, all with their wands drawn. They were surrounded.

Each and every wand was pointed at the fellowship.

There was no way out.


	11. Darkness Moves In

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Eleven - Darkness Moves In

Hermione, though trying to be strong for both herself and her best friend, could no longer withstand the torture she had been enduring for the last twenty minutes.

Gemma cackled evilly, the whip cracking against Ginny's bloody back. The blood seeped through Ginny's thin layer of clothing; Ginny, eyes closed, did nothing. No tears stained her cheeks, no whimpers left her mouth, she was already dead…if only on the inside.

Hermione was on all fours on the ground, the pain searing through her like a thousand sharpened blades. Her eyes were watery and she had taken on quite a haunted look. Her hair was matted to her head due to sweat that was secreting through her pores. The eyes which had once been lively, sparkling and brown, were now deadened over with blackness, anger saturating her life force.

The trees surrounding them seemed to be moving in. Hermione sat up as the whip cracked over her own back. With each slicing came with it a brand new line of pain. Slowly, Hermione could feel her pain gates closing, due to the mounting lividness. She would not let herself be tortured this way.

This was not how Hermione Granger was going to die. She had more strength than that.

Evil rage flashed through her placid eyes and she got off the ground as Gemma advanced on a very immobile Ginny. Ginny was lying on her back, her dead eyes turned towards the sky; this was the scariest way to see someone. Dead in the eyes.

With a rabid screech, Hermione dug her nails into Gemma's shoulders and threw her off her course; Gemma went sprawling about a foot away, her anger building up with each sharp breath she took.

Hermione, hands clenched in fists at her sides, breathed heavily, each breath laboring and serrated; her shoulders heaved, her eyes narrowed, her mouth slid into a tiny slit. She looked like a wild animal ready to pounce.  
  
It was going to be a fight to the death, as far as Hermione was concerned. One of them would not get out of this alive…she prepared herself accordingly.

*

Draco's eyes flicked between each Death Eater, trying to find his or her identity in hopes he could define their weakness and overtake them. He knew only about ten out of the hundreds. One of them was his father. 

Lucius Malfoy did not bother pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, there was no need.

Draco slowly stood up, his knees aching from where he'd fallen, and stood face to face with his father. Behind him, he could hear the Weasley boys, Harry and Seamus all standing as well.

"What have you done with her, Lucius?" Draco demanded, his voice carrying the old coldness the boys recognized from their school days.

"Done with _whom_, Draco?"

Draco laughed coldly, shaking his head in irritation, "Don't play dumb. You know who."

Lucius glanced around, a dumb smile across his sneering lips, "I'm sorry, I don't see Voldemort anywhere around here. Do you?" The man beside him laughed stupidly, Lucius waved him off dismissively, cutting off the oafish laughter.

"What have you done with Hermione?" Draco asked, his voice holding such spite that Harry was surprised he wasn't spitting pure venom. Draco's teeth were bared, like he was going to plunge them into Lucius' leg and watch him bleed to death; Harry knew that if this happened, Draco would feel no remorse. Nor would Harry, if it came to that.

Harry's eyes grew large as he watched the wizard calmly survey his father, whom he hadn't seen in at least two years, maybe three. Draco's gray eyes held anger of a degree Harry had never seen…not even when he'd been face to face with Voldemort himself.

"The Mudblood?" Lucius spat, motioning his wandless hand towards the blank screen above him. His other hand was pointed towards Draco, the wand's tip directly between Draco's eyes, in a threatening manner.

"Don't call her that," Draco hissed, lifting his head up with pure Malfoy pride.

"I'll call her what I will," replied Lucius, his voice light and airy compared to his son's. "She's not harmed, dear boy. She's out in the forest with one of our more _skilled _Death Eaters…that scene you saw before, it was only what _could_ happen. If you don't cooperate." Lucius smiled eerily.

It seemed that none of the Fellowship were surprised to hear, or find, that Gemma was a Death Eater.

"What do you want?" Came Harry's clear, calculating voice from behind Draco. Harry took a step forward so that he was now standing directly beside Draco. Seamus, Ron, Fred and George followed suit so that the six of them were in an even line; the line of the light side.

"We only want one teeny, tiny, little favor, Mr. Potter," his lips curled into a tell-tale sneer even as his voice held nothing but childish condescendence. He looked around at his very ample army, most of which had taken their hoods off. "We want to kill you."

Fred scoffed, "Ha. I can assure you we won't make it easy on you. We won't just bow down and let you Avada us. We're not COWARDS like you."  
  
"I wouldn't want that, Mr. Weasley," Lucius assured, seemingly ignoring the rude comment. "Of course, we have to wait a bit while my Lord gets himself ready…he would like the _pleasure_ of killing Potter himself. As he hasn't been able to before, it'd be a very lovely treat for him." Lucius articulated each word with such precision that it was obvious he was stalling. Either that, or he didn't want anyone misunderstanding him.

Harry held his wand up, pointing it directly at Lucius, "We don't take things lying down," he muttered, his voice full of rancor, his eyes narrowed at his captor.

Lucius laughed shortly, "I don't want you lying down. I only want you to stand there, still like a good boy. I promise it won't hurt a bit." He laughed again, this time glancing at the henchman standing beside him. "Goyle, I'll ask you to disarm our _worthy_ opponents."

Draco and Harry exchanged a very brief look that held one word only. It passed between them quickly and then spread to the other members of the fellowship like lightning.

Attack.

*

"It's no use, Hermione," Gemma groaned, kicking Hermione off her. Hermione flew into the air and landed with a thud next to Ginny. "If you anger me, I'll only kill you faster."  
  
"You won't be killing me, Gemma," replied Hermione, standing up once more. Her voice was strong and her motions deliberate. "'Twill be I who kills you."

Gemma tipped her head back and let out a bark of hallow laughter, "I'd like to see you try."  
  
"Haven't you noticed?" Hermione said, inching towards her. "I already am."

Gemma stayed still on the ground, not even needing to move. She was so sure she'd win, that she might as well have given up trying.

"I know how this works, Gemma. You can't do anything without your Master's final approval." She said the word master like it was a very dirty swear word.

"You are very skilled," Gemma admitted, sitting up. "but I really wouldn't get too cocky if I were you."  
  
"Oh?" Hermione asked, eye brow raised. She stopped moving towards her target. "Why's that?"

"Because you've already lost, little girl." Gemma smiled at her in a mockingly way.

"Have I," Hermione repeated, taking a last step towards where Gemma lay. "You're not going to kill me."

"I'm not," echoed Gemma, her voice full of laughter. "Why's that?"  
  
Hermione held a wand out in front of her, its tip pointed at Gemma's heart. "Because I have your wand. And I know you, you're completely useless without it. You're one of the worst witches I've ever met. You wanna know why?"  
  
Gemma growled in response.

"I'll tell you why. Because you didn't bother to learn any Muggle ways of fighting. You've relied on your wand far too much, Miss Moon, and that is a very, very dire mistake…for it'll end in your demise."

Gemma cackled, "You can't kill me. You're far too good for that."  
  
"After being held captive for days, after watching my parents die in front of my eyes, after watching my best friend slowly dwindle away…I no longer care about what's good and what's right. I only care about one thing."  
  
Gemma's eyes flashed with a tad bit of fear, but she quickly overcame it and it was replaced with anger, "Oh, really," she stated flatly. "And what's that?"  
  
"Revenge," snarled Hermione, sticking the wand directly against Gemma's chest. 

Gemma squirmed against the sharpness of the wand and suddenly the severity of the situation hit her. She was about to be killed with her own wand. "Please," she begged, "Hermione don't do this. This isn't like you, you're good…you're not evil, you're full of complete goodness; you are too good for killing."

"Ha," Hermione said, "I'm not too good for anything, not anymore. Being in a depressive cell does things to you, Gemma; it made me so much stronger, stronger than I ever knew possible. There's only one thing you can count on in this life…and that's yourself. I'm counting on myself right now so I can save my friend's life. That awful place changed me, and I'm not going to say that it's for the better." She chuckled, "Well, maybe it's the better for me, certainly not for you."

Gemma's cold demeanor diminished and was replaced with a paleness of complete and utter terror.

Hermione took a deep, steadying breath and pushed the wand against Gemma's robes. Her face saddened slightly before hardening over and her voice was low; a quiet, desperate whisper that hung in the air long after the words were spoken and the trees lit up with green smoke.

"Avada Kedavra."


	12. As It Crumbles Down

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Twelve - As It Crumbles Down

Once you have seen death, death because of you, death in your hands, you are no longer a person who can think of only sunshine and daises. You're a changed person, your entire being alters. The death adds darkness to your heart; you can either overcome it, or embrace it. Or you can diminish because the weight of taking someone's life weighs so heavily on your heart.

The boys of the nearly fallen fellowship stopped looking at one another and fixed their eyes on the large number of evil men in front of them. There would have to be a lot put into consideration before the attack. Like, how many people to a Death Eater, and what kind of curses were acceptable to use.

As Aurors, they had a free license to perform an Unforgivable on Death Eaters. Not on normal public, of course, because that could severely backfire…but they had free will to perform what curses they would need.

Before they left for the mission, they did have to get clearance from the Ministry, however. Loads and loads of paper work had to be completed. Something both Draco and Ron loathed equally; Harry and Hermione were the only Aurors who didn't complain about paper work.

Gregory Goyle took a step forward, his wand raised ready to disarm…but Lucius held him back; a few more words needed to be spoken.

"You do understand, Draco," said Lucius calmly and abruptly.

"Understand what?" growled Draco, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"That there is no way out. There is no escape." He paused, his eyes clouding over the sarcastic happiness to be replaced with pure hatred. "You did expect this, I imagine. You were always a smart boy, even though you are extremely foolish."  
  
"There were no expectations," replied Draco solidly.

"You did not expect me to attempt to kill you? Dear boy, I must have given you far more credit than you deserve. Ever since the day you deceived me, you _betrayed_ your own father, your name has been on the top of my list."

"The top of what list, Father?" Draco asked coolly.

"The hit list, Draconis," Lucius answered, his voice now a low growl, his eyes mere gray slits.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, _Lucius_," Draco snarled, "but you won't be killing me."

Lucius laughed, looking from the boys to his men, then landing back on Draco, who stood like a stone wall. "I won't be killing you," he wiped a fake tear from his eye due to mirthful laughing. "What a very funny statement, Draconis---"  
  
"Don't call me that," Draco cut in. "And do NOT act so condescendingly towards me. I am just as powerful as you, old man, maybe more. I am your equal, I am your son…you will treat me with the respect I deserve."

Lucius looked taken aback for a moment but regained his composure and air of evil sarcasm. "You sound like me when I was young." He stared at Draco harshly, "Pity, really, as you are no son of mine."

That was the last straw for Draco. Without alerting his fellowship in any way, shape or form, he lunged. He flew towards his father, his wand outstretched. His words, when they came flying from his mouth, were loud and shrill, "AVADA KEDAVRA!!!!!!!!!"

Lucius fell to the ground in a very rigid manner.

Surprised, the Death Eaters all took steps back, watching as Draco landed on top of his father's crumpled body. "I, as much as you, wish I was not your son. Make no mistake about that." With the last snarling words, he pried his father's wand from his hand and broke it in two. In just seconds, Lucius' body dissolved into a puff of lucid green smoke. Draco landed on the cold floor with a soft thud.

He stood up quickly. "If any of you try anything, I promise your deaths will _not_ be as quick and painless as that."

No one moved for several minutes. Some of them were frozen in fear; some in plain surprise, some just didn't know what to do. The latter was true for the remainder of the fellowship.

Harry stepped forward and put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Drac…"

"Don't," snapped Draco angrily, "Don't do this right now. We have to deal with _them _before Voldemort shows up for the party."

"You'll not get away with this," came a voice from the far back of the ranks.

"Oh really?" Draco said, amused, "I'd like to know why not."

"Because," a cold voice uttered from the doorway, "When one of our own is killed, we simply just don't approve."

Draco turned around, looking at Voldemort face to face. He hadn't seen him live and in person for several years, not since fifth year at the earliest.

"Yeah?" Draco replied curtly, "Well I don't really like it when one of my friends is kidnapped, tortured and…maybe even dead, I don't know." His voice was direct and very short. Ron, Harry, George, Fred and Seamus watched the scene in front of them, mutely.

"The Mudblood was your friend, dear Draco?" Voldemort asked, his red eyes gleaming as he took a step towards him. He waved the Death Eaters back against the wall, covered in darkness. The Fellowship stood in a line, this time facing the other direction, in the middle of the room. "Since when do Malfoys cohort with Mudbloods?"

"Seriously, don't call her that," Draco retorted, clearly annoyed.

  
"If I didn't know better," said Voldemort, his voice as slippery as oil, "I'd say you had a thing for her."  
  
Draco snorted, "It's none of your business either way."  
  
"Actually," Voldemort replied, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin upon them, "I'd be greatly interested to know how you felt about her. Because, the more you like her, the more fun it is for me to torture her and make you watch."

Draco rolled his eyes, "All talk, no action."

"Muggle phrases," Voldemort blanched, "Please tell me you're not living with Muggles."

"I'm not," Draco said, "But I also don't agree with you about anything, anymore."  
  
"I am sorry we lost you," Voldemort stated, sighing heavily and dramatically, "You would have been _so _good on our side. When I met you as a little baby, I always knew you had spirit and strength…much like Potter over there," He cast a withering glance at a very livid looking Harry, "I never wanted to kill you, Draco. I always knew you'd do great things, however I had hoped they'd benefit me."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "You hope everything benefits you. Everything you do is for yourself. You're the most selfish person I've ever met! And that's really saying something, because I have met myself."

"Draco," hissed Ron, leaning over, "You just put yourself down."  
  
"I know," said Draco, his voice strong and proud, "I'm not blind to my own faults. Like _some_ people."

"Enough of this blabbering," muttered Voldemort, waving his hand around a little, "You're only prolonging your life and there's no need for stalling. I promise that this won't hurt a bit…as long as you don't struggle. You see, Draco, I intend to kill you last now…even though at first I was going to save that for Potter." He looked at Harry, rage evident in his very red eyes, "However, since you have killed my best Death Eater, I must make you watch your _friends_ die and then…then you shall go."

Voldemort raised his wand, the tip pointed directly at Seamus, who was standing solidly at the end of the line on the left, and his cold laughter rang through the large chamber. "I would like nothing more than to kill Potter first, but I think that's far too easy for him, because then he won't have to see his friends scream in agony as they die. So, I shall start with you, the only Mudblood in your little gathering. Any last words, Finnigan?"

Seamus opened his mouth, his eyes large and scared, but was cut off as the door behind Voldemort was blasted open. Unfortunately, the door did not hit him as it soared off its hinges. It fell just short of him, the breeze only making him waver slightly on the spot.

"Yeah, you know what?" Said a woman's voice from the doorway. The voice was deep, strong and very, very cold. "I don't think so."


	13. The Battle Cry

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Thirteen - The Battle Cry 

The next sequence of events happened as if in slow motion. Voldemort turned slowly to face his interrupter, Seamus' knees buckled and he fell to the ground with fear evident on his insipid face; the Death Eaters stepped forward out of the darkness.

Harry and Draco looked at one another, petrified with fear of the impending doom that was about to be bestowed upon them. Harry and Draco, normally strong and solid, were not afraid to show that they were, for perhaps the first time in their lives, not so sure they could overcome this huge obstacle in front of them. 

Harry, for one, was very aware of the fact that he might die; and he'd never felt that way before…not even when he had been facing death all those other times. A glimmer of hope shined through in the back of his mind and kept his spirits high and his will strong.

  
That glimmer was lost.

Draco, who had never faced death such as this before, felt his lip trembling and his eyes close with regret. He was slowly resigning himself to the fact that a big battle was about to take place and that he might not make it out alive…his father hadn't.

His father, though, was not a good man and Draco was. Draco was on the light side, and good things happened to those who were truly good inside. Karma played a big part in the lives of wizards and witches. Today, when all hope was nearly lost, Draco would rely on it.

"Hermione," Draco choked out, "Hermione, get out of here." Ginny appeared behind her friend, dragging a very dead Gemma. Ginny, though still very pallid, looked stronger…but no less frightened. It was obvious that each step she took hurt her immensely and her face contorted in pain each time her shirt shifted over the slashes on her back, which still bled freely. Hermione's back was in better condition, but was still bleeding as well, through her tattered clothing.

Draco felt Ron visibly cringe at the sight of his worn sister, he put a hand out to stop Ron from moving. George and Fred seemed to want to go to her side too, but it was impossible.

Draco was slowly going crazy with worry. His eyes practiced their best saccadic movements as they darted from her to Voldemort and then around the room at all the Death Eaters. 

Hermione's eyes glided from Voldemort to Draco and hung on his gray eyes for several seconds before she spoke, "Draco." Everything she felt, everything she needed to say was thrown out into that one word. Her regression of the fact that she'd ignored him for so long; the fact that she denied her true feelings due to some bit of her that was utterly stupid; her love for him. As soon as the love in her voice came out, it vanished. She had a lot of built up hatred inside that would not be pushed away so easily.

May it be an evening star  
Shines down upon you  
May it be when darkness falls  
Your heart will be true  
You walk a lonely road  
Oh how far you are from home

The room was filled with oppression that Harry had not felt since his visit to the Grangers' house. It seemed 

that the room was cloaked in depression, devastation and a lust for destruction. On top of that, Harry felt his heart being covered with a thick blanket of fear.

That blanket of fear wove itself around Draco's heart as well, then moved onto Ron, George, Fred and Seamus.

Ron was not a coward, he was a brave Auror and he had a lot of fight in him. Ronald Weasley felt that fight draining away bit by bit just as the color drained from his freckled face. This was the first time he'd ever seen He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for real. He didn't like it at all, and if he lived, he didn't fancy having another go.

Seamus' brain was overloaded with rapid thoughts. He was not prepared for this. There was nothing in the Auror handbook about being surrounded by Death Eaters with Voldemort threatening to kill you. There was no class for this. Seamus Finnigan was not ready to die, but he didn't see any way he would live. The little hope that Seamus had come into this mission with, was slowly fading away.

Fred knew what he was getting himself into when he accepted this mission, Harry had warned him. He was ready to fight, and to complete his mission or die trying. Fred Weasley didn't care if he lived or died, he only wanted to make sure Voldemort couldn't hurt anyone anymore. His one regret was that if he died, he'd never see his family again…or Hermione and Harry who had become his extended family. He stifled a sob as he watched Voldemort's cold sneer lace his thin lips.

George was not ready to die, he had too much he had to get home too. He had too much he wanted to do with his life. He had too much hope in him to just give up. George Weasley would not give up. He would stand there and take Avada Kedavra in the chest if it meant Hermione and Ginny could get out of this alive. They were both his sisters and he was a true big brother. He would protect them.

Hermione's breath was brisk and her eyes glimmered with anger; pure and utter hatred. She'd caused death once before…and she wanted to see death at her hands once more. She was slowly losing herself as her mind became corrupted by the darkness in the air. Hermione Granger was no longer the know-it-all, she was rapidly becoming one of them…at least in their lust to murder.

Ginny was so weak that she could no longer stand. She saw, barely, her three brothers across the room from her, but she couldn't say anything. Her voice had escaped her, her thoughts had trapped themselves in her whirlpool of a mind. There was no way she could help them, no way she could fight. The life had been sucked out of her, she could feel it. Could feel it like she felt the cold stone behind her head and the sloppy, matted hair against her face. Her vision blurred and the scene before her swung into an unfocused mess.

Ginny fell to the ground with a hard thump as her head hit the stone. Then everything went black.

"GINNY!" Ron yelped, putting a foot out in an attempt to go to her.

  
Fred held him back, pulling on the back of his robe. "Ron, no. Don't move. She'll be fine."  
  
"She's fine, Ron," said Hermione without sympathy. 

Ron glanced at her, frightened, "Hermione, what's happened to you?"  
  
Draco watched Hermione's eyes as the flickered with hate and landed on him. "She's killed…she murdered Gemma."  
  
Hermione inclined her head slightly, and her voice came out, sounding quite unlike herself. "Yes. I have. How did you know?" The malice in her voice made Ron take a shuddering breath.  
  
"I know you," Draco whispered, his lips very dry, his throat tight, his eyes serene and yet filled with worry.

Mornie utúlie (darkness has come)  
Believe and you will find your way  
Mornie alantie (darkness has fallen)  
A promise lives within you now

"You DON'T know me," Hermione countered. "No one really knows me."  
  
"That's not true and you know it," Draco replied compassionately.

"Excuse me, but let's stop with the little love fest," Voldemort hissed, "Let's get back to business." He turned to Hermione, who's cold, dead eyes were set on the Dark Lord now, instead of Draco. "Now, then. You don't think I'm going to kill them?"  
  
Hermione grinned spitefully and took a step towards Voldemort. She noticed in the corner of her eye that Ginny's chest was rising slowly with each breath the younger girl took. This seemed to fuel Hermione's fire. "I think you're really just a coward. When push comes to shove, you can't handle it. You hide behind your army of Death Eaters who kiss the ground you walk on, but secretly despise you."

Voldemort chortled in a hissing way, "The only person they despise," he snarled, "Is Harry Potter who, for some odd reason, has lots of fallowed and undaunted power." His eyes flicked to Harry, who stood sternly beside Draco. Draco didn't seem to see anything except Hermione. His eyes were stuck on her, watching as her breathing grew more hasty and intense.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Hermione asked, a hard edge in her voice that made Draco flinch slightly. Harry noticed this and gave him a weird look, which he also gave Hermione. He knew Draco was right, he could tell Hermione had killed…when she had said Draco's name before, she had sounded like her old self, but that girl was in her no longer. 

Harry avoided thinking about, vowing to keep his mind clear and his eyes on the event before him. Voldemort watched Hermione with bemusement on his face.

"He has power because his parents were powerful; it is undaunted because he is the bravest wizard in the world…and, really, he is the most powerful. You couldn't beat him. You _can't_ beat him. You might as well give up and go back into hiding. No one wants to see you, you're a mere flicker of what you used to be. And you're so very ugly that my eyes hurt just looking at you." Hermione grinned wickedly.

Voldemort raised a pencil-thin eyebrow at her and his smile curled more evilly. It gave his face a very unearthly glow that made Harry's stomach contract and his heartbeat pick up. Draco's did something similar, only he knew why. Voldemort looked like some sort of makeshift devil, an anti-christ made of pure evil. And THAT was frightening beyond words.   
  
Because what does one do when face to face with the devil? A normal thing would be running away in fear. Except the fellowship could not do that. They had to beat him once and for all.

The trouble was, it was no where as easy as it seemed to be.

The slit of Voldemort's nose was turned to the ceiling of the cavern and his eyes were rolled up as well. "So," he said pleasantly, looking back at them all and then glaring at Hermione before his voice hardened, "You have to rescue your rescuers."

Hermione tilted her head to the side, "You could say that, I suppose."

"And why didn't you just flee? You were free, I assume, by the fact that my most prominent Death Eater is now a pool of rotting flesh…" He looked at Draco warmly and in a fatherly way, "Lovely image, isn't it?"

Draco raised his eyebrows, and replied sardonically and flatly, "Yeah. Lovely."

He turned back to Hermione who was fidgetting beneath his gaze, "If I were you, I'd have left this lot to suffer. At least then you would have been alive."

Hermione glanced at Harry, who gave her a strong look of encouragement in response. "Well, that's you isn't it. And you're not me. I could never leave my friends to die, just so I could live. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."  
  
Voldemort yawned, covering his mouth with very thin fingers which tips had extremely sharp nails, "I suppose that is where you and I defer, my dear." He stood straight, "Would you like to go next? Or shall I leave you towards the end? Maybe I should go back and begin with the Irish half-blood."

Hermione shrugged innocently, looking like the Hermione of old. She spoke using a voice one would use for a toddler, "How about we make a deal? For every one of MY people YOU kill, I'll kill several…maybe, ten, of YOUR people?"

Voldemort laughed coldly, "Silly girl. Why would I do such a thing?"  
  
"Because," she explained, twirling Gemma's wand around her fingers in a very Tom Riddle-ish way, "If you begin, you'll surely win."

"HERMIONE!" Ron yelled, "What are you doing!?"  
  
Hermione fixed her eyes on Ron and smiled eerily, "Sacrifice, Ron…it's the only way to win."  
  
George swore very colorfully, "Hermione. What the HELL is wrong with you?"  
  
"She's a changed woman, Mr. Weasley," replied Voldemort, watching Hermione with renewed interest. "She is making her way to my side, if I'm not mistaken. She's willing to trade your lives, for lives of my Death Eaters. How this benefits her, I am not sure…but as long as it benefits me…" He shrugged in finality.  
  
Draco finally caught Hermione's eye and mouthed, "STOP!" but she shook her head and looked away. "But, you have to promise to leave Draco and Harry for the end, like you said you would."

"Of course," Voldemort replied coldly, "I will not go back on my word."

Hermione smiled and nodded in satisfaction; Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Seamus. "Oh!" Hermione cried, "Wait!"  
  
He sighed heavily and turned towards her. "What is it?" He spat.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" She bellowed as loudly as she could, her voice echoing around the room. Draco's eyes lit up, she'd been bluffing.

Hermione caught Voldemort's wand and held it up in her other hand. "Okay, so let me get this straight."

Voldemort stared at her with a calm placidness on his face.

Hermione smiled playfully, "I can Avada Kedavra you, and then if I break your wand…you'll vanish?"

Fred cleared his throat, "Uh…Hermione?" She looked at him blankly. "Voldemort cannot be killed with Avada Kedavra."

"W---what?" She choked out, her cold demeanor vanishing quickly. "What do you mean, he can't be killed?"  
  
George closed his eyes and then opened them slowly, "He's barely alive as it is…I mean, he's not an actual alive 'human being'. He's something like a zombie…in the respect that's he's died and come back to life. He's not really living and therefore, cannot be killed with the killing curse. The killing curse is used for those who are truly alive, scientifically."

Hermione's lip began trembling and Voldemort sneered at her scornfully, "You really should have done your homework, dear," he said disdainfully. "Might be helpful to know exactly what you're dealing with."

Draco sighed heavily and looked at Harry. "Harry," he whispered. "We have to act soon. He won't play this game much longer."

Harry nodded squarely and raised his wand, pointing it at Voldemort. Soon, there were eight wands pointing at the Dark Lord. (The entire fellowship, plus his own, held by Hermione)

"I assure you 'twill not be as easy as to mutter a few little words," Voldemort said, finally noticing that the wands were all pointed at him. "You, of all people, Potter, should know that."

Harry raised an eyebrow, nodding slightly, "Yeah. But you know what? Everything's stronger in numbers. NOW!!!!!!!!"

And with that, the Fellowship all clasped their non-wand hands together, Hermione put Voldemort's wand in her pocket and rushed to Seamus' side, grabbing his hand.

Suddenly, it all erupted as sparks flew through the air, making the room look remarkably like Independence Day. Green jets of light smashed into people, knocking them over. Yells, screams and shouts echoed around the walls. Thumps were heard as some fell to their deaths.

Desolation was plummeting in on them. 


	14. Light Shines Through

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Fourteen - Light Shines Through 

It was slow motion as Voldemort ducked out of the way of the streaming jets of light. Lightning struck the ground all over the place, rumbling at people's feet. Curses flew in every direction, some of which were quite absurd. Fred or George Weasley (it was hard to tell which one through all the clutter of dead bodies) had gotten a little overzealous and cursed a Death Eater to have a very odd, yet fashionable looking, hat atop his bald head. If the situation had not been so severe, there would have been a lot of laughing at this image.

As the Dark Lord dived, he flew into Hermione, knocking her over. Seamus did not let go of her hand even as Voldemort roughly shoved her aside and pulled his own wand from her pocket.

Voldemort jumped up, his wand pointed at her as she cowered on the ground, trembling.

"Say your last words," he growled, his voice barely audible over all the shouts of agony and screams of spells. A Death Eater fell, dead, beside her and she skirted away from it, dropping Seamus' hand.

Seamus, busy in combat with three Death Eaters, didn't have time to notice. But Draco, who had been keeping close watch on his own battles as well as Hermione's, did. He rushed to her side and everything else in the room failed to exist.

"Draco," she whimpered as Voldemort stepped closer and pressed the wand tight against her throat. He stepped back, ready to perform the worst of the Unforgivables.

Voldemort's eyes flashed with malevolence, as he hissed his next words, "Avada-----"  
  
Draco leaped into the air and dove on top of Hermione's cowering body.

"---Kedavra."

He landed with a thud on top of her and she squirmed beneath him, "DRACO!"

Harry, a few feet away, rushed over. "DRACO!" He yelled, going down onto his knees in order to help Hermione turn Draco over. Draco's eyes were closed tight, his hand clenched around his wand, his mouth set in a stony frown.

__

May it be the shadows call  
Will fly away  
May it be your journey on  
To light the day  
When the night is overcome   
You may rise to find the sun

Harry turned his head upwards to be met with a wand in his face. His eyes were misty, but filled with anger. He swiftly kicked his leg out, knocking Voldemort down into a pile of his own robes which billowed beneath him. Hermione began sobbing over Draco's lifeless body. Ron, Seamus, Fred and George continued to knock Death Eaters down with various curses and also made good use of their knives…which proved to be very useful to killing more than one Death Eater at once, therefore making the numbers quite even in retrospect.

Harry quickly stood up, towering over Voldemort's crumpled form. He pulled his wand from his bony fingers and put his foot on Voldemort's slowly rising chest.

"Do YOU have any last words?" Harry asked, his face contorted in hatred.  
  
"You're not going to kill me, Harry," Voldemort said, sounding throttled.

"Why?" Harry demanded flatly, "Because you're my father?"

"No, stupid boy," Voldemort replied, coughing slightly as Harry pressed his foot tight against Voldemort's throat. "Because _you_ are not like me."

"You're right about that," agreed Harry, "But you've just killed one of my best friends…and I'm not about to let you get away with it." Harry paused for dramatic effect, "Oh, and you killed my Mum and Dad---"  
  
"You do hold grudges don't you," stated Voldemort dully.

Harry glared at him, "Because of you I had to live with the worst Muggles known to humanity…I was locked in a cupboard until I was eleven! And, for God's sake, Draco was locked in a dungeon until he was that old. I can't even begin to list all the trouble you've caused everyone! Do you even KNOW!? Do you even CARE?!"  


"No," Voldemort responded, severely, "I do not care."

Harry's green eyes became suddenly and decidedly darker, "Wrong answer," he hissed, barely audible.

  
Voldemort shook his head slightly, his red eyes still gleaming with unmistakable malice, "You won't kill me, Potter. You don't have it in you," he spit callously.

"I don't?" Harry asked, his tone of voice not changing one bit. "A nice little wager would be splendid…but I simply haven't the time. So, why don't we just see what I have in me, shall we?"

He pressed the wand harder against Voldemort's chest and opened his mouth to say the words that had been sitting on his tongue forever. Then, suddenly, with a jerky movement, he pulled a long knife from his belt and plunged it into Voldemort's chest. Black liquid splattered all over the place, drenching Harry and the freezing stone floor.  
  
Harry took Voldemort's wand in both his hands and snapped it maliciously against his knee. He heard a satisfying crack and then cast it aside just as Voldemort's body disappeared in a puff of very murky gray smoke which enveloped Hermione and Draco's body like a blanket before slowly fading from existence.

__

Mornie utúlie (darkness has come)  
Believe and you will find your way  
Mornie alantie (darkness has fallen)  
A promise lives within you now

He turned around to see Hermione whimpering against Draco's chest. "He saved me, Harry!" She wailed, her voice sounded haunted and aggrieved. Harry dropped down beside her just as the clatter around them died away. 

There were only two Death Eaters left, both of which were quite bloodied up already. Seamus was laying on the ground some feet away, clutching at his arm which had been hacked at by some sort of odd limb slashing curse which he would fix as soon as the pain subsided; Ron was mopping up his sweaty forehead, and wiping away the blood that was falling from his broken nose and split lip; Fred and George were finishing off the Death Eaters, both breathing very hard.

"We have to get out of here," muttered Harry, his hand on Hermione's shoulder. "We need to get Ginny to a hospital…" his voice broke off as he watched Hermione rock back and forth in anguish. "I'm sure there are more Death Eaters on the way…and probably some Dementors."

"He---he----he---died----to---save---me!" She blubbered, in between heart wrenching sobs. Harry pulled her into a tight embrace. She yelled at Harry's thick robe, "Why did he do that!? I was ready to die! I didn't care!"

"He loved you," said Harry simply, patting her hair awkwardly, "There doesn't need to be another reason."

Two heavy thumps announced that Fred and George were finally done in their respective battles. They rushed to Harry and Hermione while Seamus and Ron crawled distressingly over.

  
"Is he dead?" Fred asked, his voice quiet and sad.

Harry started to nod, but noticed Draco's body on the ground between the group. His chest was rising so very slowly that it was hardly noticeable. "Oh my, God," Harry whispered, pulling Hermione away from him so she'd look. "Hermione, he's alive."

Hermione's tears subsided slightly as she peered through her fingers at Draco's body. He was undoubtedly breathing.

"How? How…how in the hell did he---? Didn't he get Avada Kedavra'd!?" Ron hollered, very confused as he ripped his sleeve and applied the piece of fabric to his nose in order to stop the blood flow. Fred took care of Seamus' hacked limb with a complex healing spell that his mother had taught him at an early age.

Draco's breathing got progressively more steady as if he were coming slowly back to the land of the living.

Harry gaped at him, just as everyone else did. "I don't have any idea what's going on," he said softly, his hands slipping away from Hermione. She had stopped crying and was now waiting with a blank look on her face.

  
Seamus was leaning against the wall, panting madly with large tears spilling from his eyes. He was beyond consolable, not that anyone noticed. He was crying for his best friend…and he was crying for himself. Seamus never wanted to be a murderer. He had obviously picked the wrong profession.

A low moaning emitted from the corner of the room and Fred dashed to his little sister's side. "GINNY!" He yelled, dropping down beside her. 

Ginny opened her eyes just slightly, "Fred…George?"

"Fred," he affirmed, before turning to the huddled group, "George! Ron! Ginny's okay!"

Ron and George's attention snapped away from Draco as they rushed to their sister's side. The Weasleys proceeded to have a little reunion in which Fred performed some sort of spell on Ginny to strengthen her and heal the gashes in her back.

Ginny was not conscious for very long, she blacked out only after five minutes. Hermione watched everything with an impassive expression on her face.

"Harry," moaned Ron urgently, "Harry, we have to get out of here."  
  
"I know, but I don't know what to do about Draco."

"Leave him," Ron insisted, helping Fred to pick their sister up. Ron cast a dark look around the room. "I'm taking her outside where the wireless will work again. I'm going to call for backup…and some medi-wizards."  
  
Harry waved him away absently and the Weasleys departed, praying they knew the way out.

"I don't think he's truly dead, Potter," muttered Draco, his eyes still closed.

  
Hermione stared down at him, unable to move. She'd stopped breathing, but hadn't noticed.

"What?" Harry asked, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You killed his body…but his spirit is probably wandering around right now, looking for a host." Draco winced as he tried to move his right arm. "DAMMIT."

"Draco----" Harry murmured in astonishment, "How are you alive?"

"What a wonderful question, Potter. Let me pretend this agonizing pain is gone and I shall tell you the entire story." Draco tried to shift his position on the hard floor, but groaned in pain again.  
  
"Well, you seem okay to me," replied Harry bleakly, "Back to your old sarcastic self."

Hermione's lip was trembling and she was shivering, "Draco…" Her voice trailed off as she bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to say.

His eyes fully opened and he looked up at her. He was still emotionless, and he said nothing to her. His eyes held hers for a few moments, but his attention drifted slowly back to Harry. "I didn't die because he didn't want to kill me."  
  
"He certainly seemed to want to kill you before," Harry retorted, helping Draco to lean against the wall behind them. Hermione was biting her fingers feverously, which was odd considering she had perfectly magically manicured nails and never bit them before now.

Seamus moved over several feet and then stepped towards Harry, "I'm going outside…" He waved his hand around listlessly, "I have to…I have to get out of here."  
  
Harry nodded, "We'll be out as soon as I can get Hermione to conjure a stretcher…I can't remember the spell."

"Very unlike you, Potter," Draco commented. "As I was saying," he glanced at Hermione, "Anytime with that stretcher, Granger."  
  
She jumped back in alarm and then waved Gemma's wand above him, muttering something they couldn't hear. Seconds later Draco was suspended in mid air on a very sturdy looking stretcher. She desperately wanted to discard the wand of the fallen Death Eater, but then she would have been left to her own devices, which frightened her more than Voldemort's cold, red eyes.

Harry put his hand on the side of the stretcher and pulled it towards the opening in the stone where the door had been blasted away. Hermione followed along behind them, slowly. She moved with indolence and a look of vagueness on her face.

"He didn't want to kill you." Harry said, steering the stretcher away from the wall it seemed to want to collide with.

"No," replied Draco, "I heard his voice in my head…mental telepathy. Did you know he had that ability? Most Slytherins do, of course, though they don't realize it until they are at least eighteen…by Slytherins, I mean a descendent of Salazar, not just students in the house…anyway," he waved his hand dismissively, "He was asking me if I was in love with…with…Granger, and I didn't reply because I don't have that ability yet. But…he seemed to know what I was going to do, even though I had no idea I was going to do it."  
  
"You mean jump in front of the curse," stated Harry evenly.

"Yeah," Draco said, and shrugged. "I don't now HOW he knew…I didn't even know until I landed that I had done that. So, to make a long story short ("Too late," muttered Harry) I got hit with the curse, but he obviously hadn't put all his heart and soul into it for I didn't die. I was only knocked out. He didn't want to kill me, as I said before."  
  
"Most people do want to kill you," Harry said unequivocally, "Why wouldn't the Dark Lord of all that is evil, want to?"

Draco chortled, sounding like his old self, "I figured you'd have had that bit figured out…was I wrong about your intellect?"

Harry looked at him blankly and muttered, "Watch your step," to a very silent Hermione as they ascended the stairs he'd managed to find in the dark passageway. He had a feeling his feet knew where he was going, even though he, himself, didn't. "I don't have a clue what you are going on about."

  
Draco put a very cold hand onto Harry's forearm and Harry stopped dead in his tracks, nearly making Hermione (who was not paying any attention) ram into the stretcher and fall down the flight of steps they'd just conquered. Draco stared at him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. 

"Harry," Draco's voice was so quiet and sincere that Hermione's head shot up and she stared at the back of his head in surprise, "I'm Slytherin's heir."

--------

A/N: Because of the rewrite, I haven't put any author's notes in the chapters….but this chapter needs one. First of all, thanks very much to all of you who reviewed. I appreciate every single one of you and without sounding like a very fake Britney Spears when she's thanking fans….just, thanks. LOL.

Answers to all the questions plaguing your (and my) mind are coming up.


	15. Maddening Corruption

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Fifteen - Maddening Corruption

"You're---you're WHAT?" Harry demanded, falling lightly against the wall. Draco shifted on the stretcher, and it teetered dangerously. "How is that POSSIBLE?"

"Well," said Draco, his voice airy, "It would mean that the Dark Lord procreated--" he shuddered, "--which is disgusting…but it made me, so it can't be all bad."

Harry sighed heavily in aggravation, "Malfoy, Voldemort did not procreate."

"How do you know, Potter?" Draco demanded, a hint of his old sneer encrusted voice cropping up, "Were you there? Did you go around watching his little trysts? Did you bring popcorn…did they sell those awful Muggle candies there? How much were tickets?"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Malfoy, honestly." He glanced at Hermione, who started and slid back against the opposite wall from him, placing her beside Draco's stretcher. Draco's eyes lazily made their way to her. "Did Voldemort have---" Harry swallowed hard on a word he did not want to voice, "---did Voldemort have trysts?"

"How should I know," Hermione said, her voice a bit higher than normal, "I unquestionably wasn't there…I wouldn't pay for something as disgusting as that. And I most certainly would not bring popcorn."

Draco's lips curled into a very small grin, but one that Hermione saw and returned. Harry sighed, annoyed. "Shall I leave you two here to passionately snog? It's obvious you want to. Just say, 'Harry, could you excuse us for about, oh, four hours?' and I'll happily skip merrily off outside."

"You shouldn't put both happily and merrily like that in the same sentence. You're being redundant."   
  
Harry shoved Draco's stretcher into Hermione for his comment. Hermione squealed and wiggled away from the stretcher, jumping up several steps.

"Honestly," she inhaled sharply and deliberately, "You two are carrying on like an old married couple. We have just narrowly escaped grave danger…could we get a move on? And, Draco, please stop lying to Harry about you being Voldemort's spawn. It doesn't increase your likeability in the least, and especially not for Harry, who is quite straight."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and trotted off down the last passageway. It would only be a moment before they got outside. None of them knew what time it was, so they had no idea whether to expect blinding sunlight or starry darkness, but it didn't matter.

"I think she fancies me," Draco said with raised eyebrows. Harry slapped him upside the head and pushed the stretcher up the last of the stairs.

Harry turned the corner and could make out Hermione's slow moving form up ahead. "Okay," he said quietly, "So, really, why didn't Voldemort want to kill you?"  
  
"Have you ever heard of a Wizard debt?" Draco asked, his voice calm and yet terrified of revealing the information.

"Yeah," Harry replied slowly. "If you save someone's life, they owe their life to you."

"Exactly," Draco nodded, then abruptly closed his mouth.

"Don't make me Vervaciteous your arse, Draco." Harry warned, holding his wand up threateningly. 

"That spell isn't legal, Potter, you won't step outside the law."

"Try me," Harry urged, steering the stretcher away from another wall. Hermione had stopped suddenly up ahead, but no one noticed.

"See, there was this time, at this Death Eater meeting that my father dragged me to…" he trailed off, "Why has Hermione stopped?"

Harry looked up, at Hermione, and picked up the pace to get to her faster. "Hermione," his voice was urgent, "Just push. It pushes open."

Hermione shook her head, "What pushes open, Harry? There's no opening here."

Harry stepped in front of her and swore loudly. His swearing was becoming more intense since he'd befriended Draco. "Where the bloody hell is the door?"  
  
"I think some sort of spell opens it up. Or, ooh, Potter, try your Parsletongue. I know how you love to show off with that."  
  
"Why are you being so disagreeable?" Harry demanded pointedly.

"Hmmm," said Draco sarcastically, "Perhaps it is because my father is dead…or perhaps it is because I nearly died…you can take your pick, there."

"I think it's because you're scared," murmured Hermione, raising a questioning eyebrow at him. "You can feel it. Like I can feel it. I know you can."

"Feel what?" Draco asked stubbornly.

"The pull," she clarified, stepping closer to him. Her hair was falling around her like an odd halo of brown trendils and her eyes were eerily bright, "The pull of the Dark side. Inside your heart…it's like a widening hole. It hurts. They're calling you…they're calling me."

Harry gaped at her, "Hermione, have you gone mad?" He reached out to feel her forehead but she screeched and swatted his hand away, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Draco's eyes widened and he gasped loudly. "What's happened to you?"

Draco and Harry watched, holding their breath, as Hermione pulled the sleeve of her robe up. She held her hand out, palm up, and revealed a skull with a snake sticking through its mouth. It was embedded on her fair, porcelain like skin, making the rest of her arm look weak in comparison.   
  
The Dark Mark.

"What?" Harry said, flabbergasted, "How? Hermione? Why?"

Hermione grinned maliciously, "I will get great power and wealth…if I bring you to them, Harry Potter." She fixed her orb like eyes on Draco, "And, you, Draco Malfoy…I am to do what I want with you. Killing seems like the best option." She pulled her wand from the depths of her robes and pointed it at him. "Then you are out of my way."

"Hermione," Harry whimpered, "What have they done to you?"

"They've corrupted her," Draco said calmly, his frightened eyes not moving from the tip of Hermione's wand. "They've killed her."

------

A/N: You should all know that I've always wanted to write evil Hermione vs. sweet Draco…so…yes. You know how this is a D/H fic…well why the hell isn't there any D/H? (There is SOME if you look hard enough.) There will be some, I promise you.


	16. Running Out of Time

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Sixteen - Running Out of Time

"They haven't killed me," Hermione sneered, her voice not even hers anymore. That bossy, know-it-all, sweet tone that had once come from her mouth was no longer. Her voice was cold, hard and laced with venom that would make any Slytherin proud. "I'm right here." She grinned at them, baring her teeth.   
  
Draco, still on his stretcher, glanced at Harry and tried to communicate telepathically some sort of game plan. Neither Harry nor Draco's forte was planning.

"Now," she said crisply, brushing her hands together and sighing happily. "If you'll follow me." She took a step down, back to where they'd come from.

"I thought you were going to kill me," Draco said, his voice weak. His face was contorted in pain, Harry could tell that he hurt and that Draco would not be much help in a battle. Specifically a battle involving, not wand skill, but bare hands.

Hermione watched him for a second, curiously. She cocked her head to the side and flipped stray hair from her face. "Well, I was thinking that would be fun…but it might be better if I just tied you up and had my way with you."  
  
If Draco hadn't been in so much pain he might have grinned, "Well, if you weren't the Anti-Christ, I might say 'Please, do tie me up and have your way with me.' but seeing as how you're turned all evil…actually, evil is hot. No, no, Draco stay on track." He looked up at her, his gray eyes burning holes through her brown ones and he became serious. "I don't really want anything to do with you now. I turned from the Dark Side years ago. I'm not going back. Not even for you."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, "You'll rethink that before the torturing is over."  
  
"Torturing? Why is there torture involved? Why not a nice marshmellow roast over an open fire?" Draco mocked.  
  
"It's chestnuts on an open fire, you nitwit," she replied frigidly, "And torture is on the menu, not treats."

"Pity," he stated, shaking his head in sarcastic sadness, "Would have been nice in front of an open fire."  
  
Hermione shook her head at him, "Stop stalling. Let's go. Potter, wheel him down here."  
  
Harry was about to point out that there were no wheels on the stretcher, but didn't feel up for an argument. Plus, he was still in shock about her being an ice queen all of a sudden.

"So," said Draco conversationally, as he winked at Harry and watched Hermione's figure sashay into a room off the main corridor. The room was lit with torches on the wall, but it gave very little light. This area, like the entire structure, was made of stone and it was very cold; just like a dungeon. "Tell me, Hermione, when did you become all evil? Was it a sudden dawning like, 'Oh! I think I'll join the Dark Lord today!' or was it more of a long, drawn out process?"

Hermione sighed heavily and waved her hand, making the stretcher disappear. Draco fell to the ground, landing directly on his left leg which crumpled beneath him and a sickening crack filled the silence of the room. Draco stood up with the help of Harry and cursed wildly. "My arm bloody hurts, and NOW thanks to YOU, my leg is bloody broken," he looked at Harry, "Can't you do SOMETHING? I can't be much help to you like this." He glanced down at his leg which was sprawled in an odd direction with blood stains on the knee of his pants.

The most Harry could do was hold Draco up. He was really quite useless; sad how shock does that to people.

Pointing her wand at Draco's tattered leg, she opened her mouth and cleared her throat.

  
"Don't kill him yet," Harry begged helplessly, "Please don't do it yet."  
  
Hermione looked at him condescendingly. "I'm not going to," she remarked harshly. "Now shut up." She cleared her throat again and then muttered, "Bracchialis repareo."  
  
With a ripping sound, like the tearing of a piece of paper, Draco righted himself and bounced up and down a bit on the once broken ligament. "Wow. Thanks." He looked up at her, "Now tell me who you are and what you've done with Hermione."

*

"Where the hell are they!?" Fred snarled, looking out into the eerie darkness that surrounded the remainder of the Fellowship. They were all crouched tiredly around Justin's body, looking very weary with sorrow. The moon cast very little light down on them and they were surrounded by trees on all sides. Fred was looking over the top of a very large bush while the others sat numbly on the cold ground.

Justin's eyes looked up into the sky, unmoving. The light blue reflected the stars in the sky. Seamus' lip trembled. "There isn't anything we can do with him, is there?"

"We could prop him up," George suggested lightly, "But it won't do much good." He looked at his younger brother. "Have you ever seen a product of the Dementor's Kiss before?"

Ron shook his head, swallowing hard. "No. And I wasn't keen to either, now you mention it."

Seamus sniffed, "What are we going to do?"   
  
Ginny set a light hand on his shoulder, "All we can do is wait."

Ron nodded at his sister, "How are you feeling?"

"Weak," she replied, her cracked lips forming a very slim smile. "If I pass out again, which I will, just revive me again, okay?"  
  
"Yeah," Ron answered stiffly, "Sure." 

The Weasley brothers had carried Ginny out of the establishment about an hour earlier and she'd regained consciousness when Fred had performed a spell on her that had, miraculously, woken her up. She'd fallen back into sleep (or a coma, none of them were doctors and therefore couldn't tell) and had been awoken once more. She was very weak and trembling and it was imperative they get her to a MediWizard pronto.   
  
They just couldn't do it yet, because they had to wait for the rest of their group.

Ron began wondering what was keeping them, but in the very back of his mind he knew.

As the clock ticked on, the fellowship waited…with not much hope in their hearts.

"What if they've been captured?" Seamus ventured, an hour and forty five minutes into their long wait in the darkness. "Again."

"By who?" Ron asked, "It's impossible. There was no one left."  
  
"That we knew of," George pointed out. "One of us should go in there…or…or call them on the Wireless."  
  
"The wireless won't work inside there. Or rather, it won't work from outside to inside. The walls are spelled, I think. It prevents radio waves from entering the building. Pretty smart, really." Fred sighed heavily. "There's nothing we can do. Maybe we should go back to Sirius's cave." He paused. "Wait a second."  
  
Seamus, George, Ginny and Ron all looked up in surprise. Maybe he'd come up with a plan.

Fred looked exasperated, "Where is the backup we called for hours ago? Where the hell is the Ministry?"  
  
Ginny gulped, "Oh God."  
  
"What? Ginny, what is it?" Ron asked frantically, scurrying to sit beside her and hold her head up as it threatened to fall back.

"I feel really ill," she said and then jumped up and rushed through the trees, Ron following her.

The boys could hear her being sick for over ten minutes and could hear Ron's soothing voice as he presumably held her hair back and tried to comfort her.

George turned to Seamus and Fred. "We need to get her somewhere safe. We can't wait any longer. They'll have to fend for themselves. I'll call for more back up."

Seamus nodded grimly and began to help Fred heave Justin off the ground. Justin's head lolled around as it were unattached to his body.

Ron, carrying a very green Ginny (with her eyes closed), emerged through the trees in time to see Seamus and Fred pulling Justin away from the scene. Justin was propped up between them, as they couldn't use any magic to lift him. Ron waited while George called for more backup and then the three of them left the clearing.

Ron glanced back as he, Ginny and George caught up with the rest of their group. "I hope you're okay, Harry," he mumbled, allowing George to take Ginny from him for a little bit.

"They'll be okay, Ron," said George reassuringly, "I promise."   
  
But both of them knew that it was only speculation…and speculations don't save lives.

-------

A/N: Next chapter we find out what the hell is up with Hermione…and we also get a full report on Justin's condition.


	17. Void Of All Discretion

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Seventeen - Void Of All Discretion

"You want to know who I am and what I've done with Hermione," she repeated blandly, leaning casually against the wall opposite them. Harry stared at her, still trying to comprehend what was happening.

Draco raised an eyebrow smugly, "Yes. I'd like to know. If you'd be so kind as to explain."

Hermione chuckled angelically, "Don't I look like Hermione? What makes you think I'm not her---I mean, me?"

Draco, noticing the throbbing pain in his mended leg, limped over to the small table and sat down on a rusty, badly made chair. "Well, for one, the Hermione I knew wouldn't have just up and joined the Death Eaters."

"What makes you so sure of that?" She asked derisively. "People change. You did."

Harry numbly took the seat beside Draco, his eyes trained on Hermione in horror. He seemed quite at a loss for words, not to mention thoughts.

"I changed," he agreed, inclining his head slightly, "But this is different. This is Hermione we're talking about here. Best friend to Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. She helped defeat Voldemort, what is it…seven or eight times? She's the smartest witch I've ever known, and the bravest. She's a Gryffindor. A Gryffindor Muggleborn. She's not high on the list of 'Those Who Might Cross Over To The Dark Side' in case you hadn't noticed."

"I had, actually," she replied coldly, "But I chose to ignore that slim fact. If YOU will notice, there was a very poor supply of ample bodies to befall."

Draco's eyes grew wide, "So you admit it, then."  
  
"I admit nothing," she replied airily, "Other than the fact that, no, I am not Hermione Granger."

Harry cleared his throat, his voice came out croaked and shrill at the same time, "Then who the bloody hell are you and what have you done with her!"

Hermione placed her palms on the table in front of her so her face was mere inches from Draco's. Her loose clothing bagged around her like excess skin. When she talked, her voice was like the low snarl of a rabid dog, "I have simply tossed her aside…and buried her."

*  
  
Panting and on the verge of collapse, the Fellowship got to Sirius' cave and hollered as loudly as their tired voices could muster.  
  
Seamus sank to the ground, his legs giving way on him and closed his watering eyes. Fred set Justin carefully down beside Seamus, and George gently lowered Ginny's slumbering form to the ground while Ron beat his fists against the stone door.

"SIRIUS!" Ron hollered, "SIRIUS!" He hit the stone a few more times, but the only noise it made were low thumps that not even Seamus could hear being a foot away. The sky was quickly darkening and the moon refused to shine. Stars littered the sky, but cast no light…and the entire fellowship felt warn out and ready to die.

Ron leaned against the door, tears springing from his eyes and cascading down his gray face. No one saw due to their suddenly poor night vision. "Where the hell is he!?"

George coughed fitfully, "Maybe he went back to the Ministry. Maybe they sent him home."  
  
"Well, where's the backup we ordered hours ago!? If we hadn't Apparated from the desert to here, we'd be dead by now."

It was true; on Fred's command the group had Apparated once they were out of view of the secret hideout and well into the forest.

  
"I don't know what's going on, but something is not right," Fred observed, glancing at Ginny who wasn't moving. "And she needs medical care. She's so weak."

"Justin needs something too," Seamus piped up, casting a sordid look at his fallen friend, "We can't just let him go on living like that. I mean, he's…he's…"

"He's a soulless life form and that is no way to live," Ron said, nodding, "But there's nothing we, the four of us, can do. We have to wait. Ginny's in more danger at the moment. I think they put some sort of spell on her."  
  
"What sort of spell?" George asked, falling to the ground in a heap of tired limbs.

"I don't know," replied Ron aggravated, "But Hermione would know…if she were here." He sniffed, "I hope they're okay." 

"They're fine," Fred assured him, "They have to be. Those three are the strongest wizards and witch I know…they can take care of themselves."

"Yeah," Ron granted, "But can they take care of each other?"

*  
  
"If you buried her," said Draco doubtfully, "Then how is she standing right here, right now?" He turned to Harry, "Is it Polyjuice Potion? I know you know all about that one."  
  
"This is no time for below-the-belt obscure insults, Draco," he replied sternly, "But, yes. I know about it. And, yeah, that's the only thing it could possibly be if her body is buried." He looked up at Hermione, and remarked dryly, "So she's dead then."

Hermione chuckled softly and pulled the remaining chair away from the table. She spun it around in her pale hand and straddled it. "No, she's not dead," she said lightly. Her voice hardened and she looked directly into Draco's gray eyes, "Also, no, it is not Polyjuice Potion."

Draco sighed very heavily, "Alright, listen. You either start giving me non-ominous answers or I'll beat the crap out of you."  
  
"You're not going to beat the crap out of the only girl you've ever loved," Hermione said knowingly.

"But you're not HER!" He yelled, "So I wouldn't be beating up the only girl I've ever loved…" He seemed to realize what he'd said and abruptly stopped; he opened his mouth and closed it in a gaping matter that made him look like an overgrown trout with blond hair. He cleared his throat and stared daggers at the girl in front of him, "Tell me what you want."

Hermione's lips curled into a very odd smile that didn't reach her sunken-in eyes, "Just something simple really."

"Simple to you might mean very, insanely complex to us," Harry muttered. "But I'm not doing anything for you, whoever the hell you are, without knowing what's happened to Hermione first."

Hermione flipped her hair over her shoulders and rolled her eyes dramatically, "Good Lord, Potter. Alright, fine. Hermione---" she put heavy emphasis on the name as if it were a very crude swear, "---is perfectly fine. Her soul is here, within me. I am just overpowering her." She shrugged her shoulders elegantly, "That is all."

Draco shook his head, "There's something missing here."  
  
Harry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and saw that Draco looked livid with rage and absolutely terrified with fear. "What's missing is that we don't know who is in Hermione's body with her. She's obviously been overtaken…it's sort of like a Muggle film I watched once. The Exorcist. Hermione is possessed…by someone evil…" He trailed off and his green eyes locked onto Hermione, a quizzical expression covering his weary face. "But I don't know who it could possibly be."

"I should think," drawled Hermione, sounding much like the Draco of old; her eyes were pinned on Harry in a domineering manner, "That would be the effortless part."

"Why would you think that?" Draco challenged, nearly standing up but thinking better of it. He needed to conserve his energy and stall this little blood fest as long as possible.

"Oh come on," she replied ardently, "Neither of you is stupid, I know that much. Not that I want to compliment you…that is very low on my 'To Do' list, but honestly…you must have some of the brains you get credited for?"

Draco glanced at Harry who looked blankly back, "Well, I can safely say that I don't have the brains I've been credited with. Harry? What about you?"  
  
Harry blinked and then stuttered, "I---ah----I----No, I should think I get credited far more than deserved."

Hermione laughed blandly and ran a long finger slowly down Draco's jaw and then throat in a seductive manner, "It's interesting how you are so lusted after…when it seems you have no more brains than a common Muggle."

Draco mocked being offended, "I'll have you know, Miss Evil Pants, that some Muggles are quite smart."

"Yes," agreed Harry eagerly, nodding his head a lot more than needed, "Some Muggles really are intelligent. Considering…you know, their dismissal of all things magical." 

Hermione withdrew her finger from Draco's lower throat and sat back in her chair leisurely. She laughed scathingly, "I highly doubt that simple Muggles are any smarter than a tool belt. However, isn't the Mudblood supposed to be the smartest witch of the age?"

Harry put a hand up as if he were in class, "By 'mudblood' do you mean Hermione?" 

Hermione blinked her long eyelashes at Harry, and said coyly, "Yes." 

"She is one of the smartest witches I know," said Draco, "and that's saying something bearing in mind that I know quite a few."

"Don't bother hiding your high opinion of yourself," Harry remarked dryly. Hermione laughed coldly and loudly, making Harry jump slightly.

"I bet Hermione even knows how to get possession of her body back," Draco said slyly.

"I'm sure she must," said Hermione vaguely, waving her hand around a little as if she didn't care.

Harry sat up eagerly, "Maybe she even knows how to revive someone who's been given the Dementor's Kiss."

Draco raised his eyebrows, "There is no reviving for such an act." He looked at Hermione, "If there is, it's Dark magic at its darkest. So this person…whoever he or she is…must know the spell."

"Indeed," she inclined her head in a modest gesture, "But it's not likely I'll share the complicated origins of it with you."

"There must be a book on it," stated Draco evenly. 

Hermione shrugged her bony shoulders once more, "Perhaps." She looked around the room gracefully, and then let her eyes fall on Draco, "Well, I'm getting tired of this little game. Perhaps we should get on with it?"

Draco shrugged noncommittally, "Get on with what, exactly?"

She smiled at him and he cringed, something he never thought possible. "Get on with the murders."

------

A/N: So, there is perhaps a reviving spell for the Dementor's Kiss. Of course, there isn't in the HP books that we know of…so it's something I've made up. I'm not saying that they're going to find it either, so don't think that. Next chapter brings the unveiling of who is actually possessing Hermione's body…we find out where Hermione's soul is being hidden AND, on top of that, Ginny is diagnosed. (Probably)


	18. Falling To The Ground

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Eighteen - Falling To The Ground

Seamus was distraught when Sirius finally opened the door to his cave and allowed them all in. He claimed he'd been sleeping but from the sight of him, it looked like he'd merely been pacing up and down the cave in concentration. 

They put Justin's body on one of the cushy sofas in the homey den and retreated to the well lit kitchen. Justin moved around on his own a bit, mostly like a person who was severely mentally challenged. Each time even just his finger moved, Seamus watched with horror as though it would all turn into a seizure. Justin was unresponsive when he was addressed and sometimes opened his mouth then immediately closed it.  


A person can live without a soul, as long as they have their heart…but if given the choice, the entire fellowship would rather die than live like that. The pity in the room was stifling.

Seamus was hiccupping he had cried so much. It was as if the last few hours had finally hit him. He was in shock and he could feel the ugly hand of depression pushing down on him. He did the best he could to push back against it, but it was hard. His best friend was just about dead, maybe even worse than dead…and Ginny was not in stable condition. No one knew why this bothered Seamus so, but they didn't ask. Sirius made him a strong cup of tea (which he added a calming potion to) and clapped him on the back in a fatherly way. As Seamus drank the strongly flavored liquid, he could feel it burning down his throat and cursing through his veins; he felt better after only one sip.

Fred and George looked nervous and kept shooting glances at Ginny, who was continuing to fall in and out of consciousness. There was nothing any of them could do for her…she would get no help until the MediWizards arrived. Not only that, but none of them knew what was wrong with her in the first place.

Ron kept glancing at the window (that was magically altered to be able to see out the front door) for any sign of the rest of his fellowship. The more seconds that past, the more his hopes dwindled away.

Sirius did his best to keep hopes high, but he was worried himself. He'd gotten no word from the Ministry, and not even an owl from Dumbledore.

"So you left them there, by themselves, inside that…that place," Sirius stated once the fellowship had recounted all of the events that had happened since they'd left his hideout.

Ron looked sharply at Harry's Godfather, "We didn't have a choice!" he cried in his defense.

"Ron," said Sirius warmly, "I'm not blaming you. I'm only worried."

Ron closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then opened them again. He looked more weary than the rest of them put together, and he seemed to be floating between desperate crying and outraged anger. His hair was sticking up in odd angles and the circles under his eyes were deep and well defined against the paleness of his cheeks.

Suddenly the sound of striking lightning shattered through the cave, rumbling like thunder it shook the ground, and the lights flickered before dying out completely. Sirius looked around in the dark, letting his night vision set in. Ginny's eyes flew open and she gasped loudly. Fred put a hand dismissively on her forearm; she didn't cringe away.

The fellowship sat silently, Seamus downing his tea alarmingly, as Sirius sprung to his feet and then to the front door in dog form.

  
"What was that?" George whispered into the dark.

"Sounded like a huge crater falling out of the sky," replied Ron weakly. "But that's unlikely."  
  
Ginny grabbed Fred's hand and clasped it in her freezing fingers, "Maybe it's them!" Fred, his hand in a grip that he didn't know Ginny could possibly muster, threw a protective arm around her frail shoulders.

"In here," they heard Sirius say urgently. Then, like a family of fireflies coming out of the darkness, several lit wands appeared in the hallway outside the kitchen. They cast a shadow on Sirius who was looking around at them, letting his eyes fall on Ginny. "There she is." He pointed his finger and then stepped out of the way.

Instantly the lights in the cave came back full force and illuminated about ten rather short, and some stout, MediWizards wearing the same crisp white robes. They were bustling around Ginny energetically; some checked her throat, another checked her eyes, others were prodding her from all angles. She felt like some sort of homemade science experiment. Fred, George, Ron and Seamus were pushed against the cave wall, watching with apprehension.

Siruis told Seamus quietly that several MediWizards and Dumbledore (who'd escorted them) were checking over Justin.

Seamus made his way back into the den, and left everyone else to Ginny. When he entered the den, Dumbledore was looking grave, but smiled when he saw the boy coming towards him. "Miss Weasley is alright, I take it?"  
  
"Hmmm?" Seamus replied, his eyes locked on Justin's bland ones. "Yeah. Well, I think so."  
  
"I wouldn't think you'd have left her unless you were sure," Dumbledore winked and put a fatherly hand on Seamus' back.

"She'll be okay, they said." Seamus swallowed, "What about Justin?"

"Mr. Finch Fletchley, yes." Dumbledore cleared his throat and the MediWizards stopped poking at Justin and made their way, with a stretcher, towards Ginny. "There is nothing we can do for him, Seamus. I was hoping you might take a suggestion to heart, however, as I know how friendly you and he were."  
  
Seamus blinked back tears and nodded, "Yes, we were."

"Well, I was thinking it might be good for both you and Justin if you Apparated to his apartment in London. We can transfer him to Saint Mungo's directly after that…I wanted to give you some time alone with him, because I imagine you won't have much heart to visit him, as he'll never recognize you. Victims of the Dementor's Kiss never regain their souls, Mr. Finnigan. There were never any cases of it, anyway, and I just want to make things as comfortable for you as possible."

Seamus nodded in understanding, "Yes, sir, thank you. I'd like to take him home. Get some things thrown together that he can take to Saint Mungo's with him."

Dumbledore nodded bleakly, "I am truly sorry, Seamus."

"Thanks," Seamus choked out, wiping tears away from his tired eyes. "When can I leave?"

For a split second, Dumbledore seemed surprised by this question, then his eyes softened and he looked imploringly at Seamus, "At anytime you'd like. I expect you'll want to check on Miss Weasley first?"  
  
Seamus shook his head, "She's got her brothers…I…I'd just be in the way. I'd like to get out of here."

"Very well," said Dumbledore wanly, as a glimmer of understanding passed his serene eyes, "I'll help you get Justin outside."

Without even a proper goodbye to his fellowship (He hollered goodbye, but was met with silence) Seamus was gone before anyone realized he wasn't standing with them. Justin hung loosely to Seamus as if he was completely disconnected to the world; and really, he was.

Dumbledore would explain to the group, later, of Seamus' condition. None of them would really understand except Ginny, and she would be the only one who would be there for him when he needed someone most.

*  


Seamus and Justin popped into Justin's apartment moments after Disapparating. Justin dropped onto the couch (after Seamus gave him a gentle push) and Seamus went into the kitchen. He felt starved, like he hadn't eaten in days. Maybe he hadn't, he couldn't remember, and it was a trivial thing that didn't matter.

As he sifted through the contents of the fruit bowl, his fingers brushed against a piece of parchment in the shape of an enevelope. Confused and intrigued, Seamus picked it up and looked it over carefully. It was addressed, in loopy scrawl, to Seamus himself. 

Without even wondering why Justin would leave Seamus a note in a fruit bowl, he tore it open with a swift motion and two slips of paper fell out. He picked the first one up with a quick glance towards Justin as if he were invading his privacy. Then he read.

Seamus -

I am so scared, but I know I must be strong. This is what I'm supposed to do with my life, and I know it. I just…I don't know if I will make it out. If it weren't for the fact that my entire family is dead, I probably would not be undertaking a mission such as this. I have never felt so afraid and so alone in my entire life. You are the only one I have right now and I will do everything I can to keep you safe. I'm worried that you'll find this and I'm worried that you won't. But the most important thing is that you know how much I admire and respect you. I am putting this in the fruit bowl for if you are ever in my apartment, that is where you go first. You were always so fruity. Just kidding. 

Seriously, you're my best friend and I want you to do me a favor. If I am injured, please read the other parchment carefully and strongly consider it. I mean every word and you are the only person I truly trust in this world.

On a different sort of note. Seamus, you need to tell Ginny your feelings. If you ever find her, you need to tell her. Life is short…I want you to be happy. And don't let Draco bug you too much.

-Justin

PS- You know I'm the worst letter writer there is, please pretend it's the best thing you've ever read.

Seamus set the note down with trembling hands. On one hand, he wondered what the hell Justin knew going into this mission that Seamus did not. He seemed completely sure he was going to die, or be injured. Maybe he just didn't have any faith in himself. Seamus cast a miserable glance at his fallen friend before picking up the second bit of parchment. It was crumpled as if it had been wet and then dried. He set it down again as his chest constricted; he didn't want to read it.

The words flew back to his mind: _If I am injured, please read the other parchment carefully and strongly consider it. _

Seamus didn't know what that meant, but he had nothing else to do at the moment except feel sorry for himself, so he picked up the parchment again and read it, drawing shaky breaths.

__

Seamus. There are Dementors guarding Voldemort's hideout. I heard Harry and Draco whispering before we left. You know what they do to me and how I cannot possibly hold them back. I know that if you are by my side, I will be okay…but I can't jeopardize the mission by being a complete prat and requesting you to stay with me the entire time. Do you remember what I told you, back in third year, about my great-grandfather and grandfather? They both received the Dementor's Kiss for things they did not do. My father has so far escaped this curse, but I feel that I shall not. If I receive the Dementor's Kiss, do not let me continue to live. I cannot bare it. I have seen what it does. I have seen the life you lead once the Kiss is administered. I do not want to live that way. Please, I beg you, if that happens to me, please kill me and put me out of my misery. I'm scared to live like that, in a constant state of nothingness. Trust me when I say that it is not worth living, if you're going to live without a soul. A heart and a mind do nothing if you have no soul. Do this for me, please, Seamus.   
I will miss you.

-Justin

Tears were flooding Seamus' eyes by the time the parchment hit the countertop. He looked over at the motionless Justin and watched him for quite sometime. Tears obscured his vision, but he didn't take his eyes off his friend. He agreed that this was no way to live…but there was no way Seamus could kill his best friend. He resented Justin for even thinking about such a thing.

Seamus brushed his bangs from his face and shouted in rage in agony. He shook his head and he cried some more. He didn't know what to do.

  
"DAMMIT!" Seamus shouted, stalking over to where Justin lay. "BLOODY HELL!"

Justin didn't move, or look as if he'd heard Seamus' rants at all. Seamus pulled his wand from his robe pocket and wiped his eyes on his sleeves. He sniffed and held the wand out, pointed at Justin. His chest heaved as he breathed raggedly. His breath came out in shards and his heart was pumping faster than ever before. "Dammit, Justin," he sobbed softly.

With tears streaming down his cheeks, he killed his best friend.


	19. Pure of Heart

****

With Darkness There'll Be Light

Nineteen- Pure of Heart

"So you're going to kill us," Draco stated blandly, "Why?"

"You are the only two people in the entire magical world that have the power, if combined, to stop me. Therefore, if I dispose of you both, there will be no one else in my way."

"What about Dumbledore?" Harry asked, his green eyes narrowing as he watched his best friend who was not really his best friend.

Hermione shrugged slowly, "Dumbledore is old. Though he has power, he doesn't have the strength he'd need in order to beat a wizard such as myself."  
  
"AH HA!" Draco hollered, standing up; Harry jumped a mile but Hermione merely turned her eyes to look at him. "You're a wizard, then!"

"Emmm, Draco," Harry whispered, "There's no way it could be a Muggle."  
  
Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, "Obviously I mean she's not a witch. Or rather, he is not a witch. This whole entire situation is dreadfully confusing. Where IS Hermione when you need her."  
"Her body is right there," Harry said, "But I don't think that's what you mean."  
  
"No," Draco laughed, "I need her mind."

Hermione stood up from the chair and leaned over the two of them after pushing Draco into his own chair, "All right. We've stalled enough." She pulled a wand slowly from her pocket.

"Voldemort," Harry stated decisively.

Hermione's eyes slowly fell onto his own; when she spoke, it was not her voice, but the voice of a man who sounded more like a snake, "Yes?"

"How did you know?" Draco asked, ignoring the fact that he was about to be killed.

"Elementary, my dear Draco." Harry grinned. "So anyway, Voldemort." He folded his arms across the top of the cold table, "Since you're going to kill us, couldn't you at least tell us how Hermione could get her body back?"

"Surely," Voldemort answered, "I like a good pre-killing explanation as much as the next villain."

Draco's lips curled into an evil looking smile, and his voice sounded like a child's, "Goodie! A story!" He stopped smiling, "Why prolong the wait?"  
  
"I'm curious," Harry explained, turning back to Voldemort, "Go on."  
  
Voldemort shrugged and sat back down, "Well, the Mudblood was the strongest person of magic in the vicinity who wasn't our dear Potter himself…before you comment, Draco, I'll have you know that when you were hit with Avada you were weakened so don't take it to heart that I didn't choose you."  
  
"No offense taken, of course," Draco replied good naturedly. 

"And of course your arm was broken," Voldemort continued, "I suppose you'll want to know about the Dark Mark on the Mudblood's precious skin." He didn't wait for Harry or Draco to say anything, "Well, being that I am quite evil and all that, and she is not, having something so dreadfully evil enter her system was enough to scorch the mark there. It's not permanent unless I saturate myself in her completely. Which I haven't, so don't get all heroic and tell me to watch what I'm doing in here."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Draco assured the Dark Lord, "Would you, Harry?" Harry, probably in some sort of shock, just nodded.

"Now then, for your dear Miss Granger to gain possession back of her body, there would have to be something called a Amorcism which is much like an Exorcism, I'm sure you're read about them, though it doesn't involve a priest, but someone who loves her pure of heart. It reminds me of those horrid fairy tales. Where the evil witch has put a spell on the beautiful girl and she's in a deep sleep until the prince kisses her and they live happily ever after." As he finished this statement his voice became very bland and annoyed.

Draco looked dubious, "So let me get this straight. If someone loved Hermione with all they had and they were to kiss her, she'd be okay and you'd be gone?"  
  
"To put it vulgarly, yes," Voldemort answered, admiring his fingernails.

Draco glanced so quickly at Harry that no one but Harry himself noticed the tiny flicker in the other wizard's gray eyes.

Voldemort looked remarkably bored and it was odd for Harry because he had never seen such an expression on Hermione's face before, "As there isn't anyone who loves her with all their heart and a pure soul, I'll just move on, shall I?"

"I love her," Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure you do, dear boy," He made a sour face, "But not in the way a man loves a woman. You love her like she's your sister. I can see it in your eyes."  
  
"I didn't know you knew so much about relationships, Dr. Ruth," Harry retorted.

Draco, while Harry was bickering and causing a bit of a distraction, was slowly and carefully making his way to the other side of the table. 

  
Voldemort's eyes flickered with anger, "I'm bored now and I would like to kill you." He tapped his wand on the table and stood up, pointing it directly at Harry.

Harry squared his shoulders and prepared himself for the worst that could happen.

"I don't really feel like being dead today," Draco said from behind Voldemort, making the Dark Lord spin on his feet and face him. "Wanna know why?"  
  
"Sure," Voldemort replied blankly.

"I'm in love with Hermione, I have been for a very long time." He took a step towards Voldemort, muttering under his breath, "It's Hermione, it's Hermione, it's Hermione," over and over.

Taking the deepest breath he had ever taken in his life and grabbing Hermione/Voldemort by the shoulders, he pressed his lips to hers in a fiery kiss that would have made his heart flutter if he could get the feeling of dread out of his mind. He had wanted to do this for a very long time, longer than he could remember, but he had never wanted it under these circumstances; he wasn't sure she even knew what was going on or, more importantly, if the real Hermione even felt the same way about him.

Draco didn't ask questions without first knowing the answers, he didn't do spontaneous romantic things without first knowing the exact outcome, he didn't cry at films, he didn't aww at puppies…but he had fallen in love. Granted the conditions for their first kiss weren't perfect, but he was here and she was here more or less and it had happened.

He had a feeling deep down that she would be okay after this; Voldemort's life force or whatever he was would diminish and Hermione would come back to him, and she would be his.

  
Draco, for the first time in his life, had faith that love would really conquer all.

When Draco pulled away his eyes were closed tight and Harry was standing in the doorway of the room with a stupid grin on his face as he watched his two best friends kiss for the very first time. He felt odd about it, since Hermione wasn't really Hermione, but the most evil wizard in the world, but he pretended to be happy for them anyway.

Harry cleared his throat, "What do you reckon?"  
  
Draco turned towards him, "Emmm…" he trailed off, and looked at Hermione through one open eye and one closed. He was worried that Voldemort would still be there, laugh coldly and then kill them both without another thought. "Hermione?"  
  
"What the HELL just happened?!" She turned to Harry, "Well?"

Harry was grinning still, "I think Draco kissed you, but I've been down here a long time and my eyes might be deceiving me."

"Are you Hermione?" Draco asked her, both eyes closed once more.

"Do I LOOK like Hermione?" She retorted hotly, placing her hands on her hips.

"That is no longer a fool proof assumption. Just because someone LOOKS like someone doesn't mean they ARE that person." Draco sighed, "Please tell me you're not Voldemort."  
  
"I should hope not, I've never seen Voldemort wear makeup." She still sounded rather put-out, but neither young wizard knew why.

"I have," Harry shuddered, "It's an awful scarring sight."

Draco swallowed hard and opened his eyes, watching as Hermione turned towards him, "Did you just kiss me?"

"I believe so, yes." He nodded, sounding scared; he was probably worried she'd slug him.

"And why did you do that?"  
  
"Voldemort had taken over your body!" Draco exclaimed, sounding hysterical, "And he said that the spell could be broken if someone loved you a great deal and if they kissed you to prove it or some such nonsense."

"You love me?" Hermione asked, her voice quieter now.

"Didn't you hear me when I said I have for a really long time? I was looking at you."  
  
"I was apparently indisposed," she remarked, smiling a little. "The last thing I remember before you kissing me is…well, I don't remember anything."

Harry's eyes widened, "You have amnesia?"  
  
"Post-traumatic stress disorder," Draco said, "Snogging me does that to girls, I've noticed."  
  
"Oh shut up," Hermione said, "How do we get out of here, oh there's the door." She smiled, nodded and made her way past the both of them, out into the small corridor. "Come along, then, let's get out of here. It's creepy."

"What. The. Hell." Draco stated, sounding completely shocked. "What happened?"  
  
"I believe you saved her with your snogging ability," Harry joked, "Plus, you're a tad in love with her, which probably helped."  


"I'm in love with you too!" Hermione shouted from up the stairs, "Let's get out of here, please!"

"Did she say she loved me?" Draco asked, his voice higher than usual.

  
"YES! Get your butts up here!"

"Better go," Harry said to him, sounding forlorn, "It seems you're already whipped and a relationship hasn't even started."

Draco stepped up next to him and clapped a hand on his back, "You know what, Potter? I don't even care. I'm just glad she's okay."

Hermione, Draco and Harry were soon out of the building and on their way back to headquarters. They apparated to Sirius' cave and were met with jubilant celebration from their fellowship members. After telling the long and daunting tale of what had happened, Draco had pronounced his love for Hermione in front of everyone.

Ron had fainted, and after they'd revived him, Seamus had arrived back stating that he didn't want to leave his friends in jeopardy no matter how hard it had been for him. He was happy to see that everyone was okay, and had explained about Justin while Ginny comforted him.

Draco and Harry never mentioned to anyone that there might have been a way to reverse the outcome of the Dementor's Kiss.

Once back in London the fellowship had been given two months paid holiday from Percy, but in true Percy fashion he had said they'd better not let their new-found fame get to their heads. He added that they'd better not let their work slip when they returned.

Hermione confessed that she'd avoided Draco all those years because she didn't trust her feelings for him. She felt that it was simply a crush and it would go away, but it hadn't. Draco told her he'd loved her since the day he saw her on the Hogwarts Train at the start of their first year. She hadn't believed him.

The fellowship is a team now, at the Ministry, taking all cases together; they are the most successful Aurors ever to grace the wizarding world. 

Seamus retired, however, after a year and married Ginny, the only person to truly understand him.

The fellowship learned one thing from the horrid ordeal; something they never forgot. No matter how dark it gets, and how hopeless it seems, your true friends will be there for you.

And out of darkness, there will be light.


End file.
